Hostage deal hampers talks on new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

In a report on December 17, two Egyptian sources told Reuters that Hamas was insisting on unilaterally releasing the remaining hostages and wanted the Israeli army to withdraw to pre-determined lines. According to the sources, Israel rejected the latter condition and demanded to see the hostage list before determining the time and date of the ceasefire.

Under a temporary ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar and Egypt in late November, Hamas released 105 civilians out of 240 Israeli hostages in exchange for a temporary halt to fighting, increased humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and the release of Palestinian prisoners at a ratio of 3:1.

The majority of the hostages released between November 24 and December 1 were Israeli women and children, in groups of 10 to 12 each day. Hamas has also freed foreign nationals, mostly Thais, as part of separate deals not involving Israel.

During the week-long ceasefire, Hamas was to submit a list of freed hostages for Israel to accept. However, the ceasefire collapsed before the eighth day after Hamas failed to propose a list of freed hostages that Israel could accept, as stipulated in the deal to release all women and children. Instead, it sent a message through Qatar and other countries. Egyptian mediators said it was prepared to release male hostages. Hamas also offered to hand over the bodies of hostages who died in captivity.

Meanwhile, Israel accused Hamas of violating the deal by refusing to release at least 10 more female hostages and two children - the youngest hostages.

The first discussions

In recent days, reports have emerged that efforts to strike another hostage deal are underway. The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani late on December 15 to discuss the possibility of a new ceasefire in Gaza, as well as a hostage and prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas.

Citing two sources, the Wall Street Journal said the talks were just the beginning and that the process would be long, difficult and complex. One of the sources added that CIA Director Bill Burns and Egyptian Intelligence Minister General Abbas Kamel had been briefed on the meeting and were helping to push for a new deal.

On the evening of December 15, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and several officials held a meeting to discuss the possibility of pushing for a new agreement.

Kan TV reported on December 17 that any talks between the Mossad chief and the Qatari prime minister would be very preliminary. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that Tel Aviv is not pinning much hope on a new hostage deal but that could change.

“Neither Israel nor Hamas is in a position to return to negotiations,” said a source familiar with the talks. “As things stand, a deal could be reached in just a few weeks. But the important thing is that in such matters, the negotiating schedule is flexible and can be shortened if there are new developments.”

Israeli leaders have insisted that since the previous hostage release deal collapsed on December 1, there has been no realistic offer from Hamas to release more hostages and that the group is making demands that Israel cannot accept. Defense officials have said the best strategy to bring Hamas to the negotiating table is to increase military pressure on the group through an offensive in Gaza.

Hamas also took a harder line, with some of its officials saying the conflict needed to end before they would entertain the idea of ​​releasing anyone.

The negotiation path is long, complicated and troublesome.

Any negotiations with Hamas through mediation would be lengthy, complicated and troublesome, unlike the previous deal, one of the sources said.

Meanwhile, Israel has not ruled out the possibility of offering to release more important Palestinian prisoners, if this leads to a significant deal.

Officials said Egypt and Qatar had offered Hamas a new deal in recent days that would free the elderly and sick men, as well as the remaining women and children, in exchange for the release of high-ranking Palestinian prisoners. But it was unclear whether the offer was made after consultations with Israel.