Hamas Handed List of 34 Captives to “Israel” for Exchange

By Staff, Agencies

A senior Hamas official announced that the Palestinian resistance movement is ready to release 34 captives in the "first phase" of a potential ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal.

“Hamas has agreed to release 34 ‘Israeli’ prisoners from a list presented by ‘Israel’ as part of the first phase of a captive exchange deal,” the official told AFP on Sunday.

The Reuters news agency also reported that Hamas told it that the resistance group had approved a list of 34 captives presented by “Israel”, to be exchanged in a potential ceasefire deal.

Hamas said any deal will depend on an “Israeli” withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a permanent ceasefire.

The Hamas official told Reuters that “Israel” has seen no progress on this request.

Public and diplomatic pressure has been mounting on the “Israeli” entity to do more to strike a deal for securing the release of captives still held in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The “Israeli” prime minister has been obstructing mediation for a truce and a deal to release the 97 captives still held by Palestinian groups in Gaza. The “Israeli” military says 34 of them are dead.

Netanyahu has rejected a series of ceasefire proposals, including one from the US administration in May.

The Palestinian resistance groups have been seeking an end to “Israeli” aggression and the withdrawal of “Israeli” forces from Gaza.