Middle East Eye reported yesterday that Hamas and Israel were “two inches away” from a hostage deal which would have resulted in the release of women and children held in Gaza, but the deal fell through when Israel launched its ground operation. Sources with knowledge of the Qatari-led mediation told Middle East Eye that Hamas was willing to go through with the deal, but needed a guarantee from Israel that the hostages would be safe. Further, Hamas has claimed that 50 of the hostages are among thousands of people killed by the intense bombing campaign Israel has waged for three weeks, although that figure cannot be confirmed.
“It did not seem to us that the Israelis were willing to move on part of the deal,” said one source. Hamas’s current offer is “all for all”—releasing all 229 confirmed hostages in exchange for 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli jails. If Israel does not accept this, the fallback offer is that Hamas is willing to negotiate the release of women, children and foreigners in return for an as yet unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel has not made a clear reply, according to several sources. But until now, neither the launch of ground operations nor Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to declare a ceasefire has stopped mediation efforts.
