The Palestinian group agrees to resume cease-fire talks, promising to release Edan Alexander and put four other bodies of captives.
The Palestinian group Hamas announced that it was ready to release the Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander and put the remains of four other two nationals, after having indirect discussions with Israel.
Hamas said on Friday in a statement that his delegation had received a mediator’s proposal on Thursday to resume cease-fire negotiations, and the group’s response “included his agreement to release the Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, who holds American citizenship, as well as the remains of four other double-citizenship detainees”.
Earlier, Humas manager Husam Badran said that the group “is determined to implement the cease-fire agreement at its various stages, and that the Department of Occupation of what has been agreed will bring us back to zero”.
According to the declaration of the Palestinian group, Israel accused Hamas of engaging in a “psychological war”.
“While Israel has accepted Witkoff’s setting, Hamas remains firm in its refusal and has not moved a thumb,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, referring to the American envoy of the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and the accusation of Hamas to resort to “manipulation and psychological war”.
On Tuesday, a senior Hamas official announced that a new series of indirect talks through mediators had started in the Qatari Doha capital. Israel also sent a team of negotiators.
The first phase of a truce between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip ended on March 1, without agreement on the following stages.
During the initial phase of six weeks of the ceasefire, Hamas released 33 captives, including eight deceased, in exchange for around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, many held Israeli prisons without indictment.
After the expiration of the truce agreement without a new agreement, Israel quickly implemented a total blockade on the besieged Palestinian territory, leaving 2.3 million people on the verge of mass famine.
Tareq Abu Azzoum of Tel Aviv Tribune, reported by Khan Younis, said that civilians “are faced with a severe and chronic shortage” of basic foods and medical supplies.
Olga Cherevko of the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination (OCHA) told Tel Aviv Tribune that the situation was disastrous “on several levels”.
“The hope that started when the ceasefire started is to be replaced by fear, the alarm and the concern that supplies are exhausted,” she said.
Cherevko said that food availability “could deteriorate fairly quickly unless the supplies are restored”. Six of the 25 bakeries in the global food program were forced to close because there is no fuel to manage them.
According to the Gaza government media office, shortages have worsened, 80% of residents lost access to food sources due to the closure of level passages.
Israel had also broken electricity to a crucial water desalination factory, threatening the supply of drinking water to Gaza.
“The situation of water and sanitation was already disastrous with most of the installations destroyed during the months of fighting. This last (Israeli) decision reduces access to drinking water to around 600,000 people, “said Cherevko.
Despite the discussions in progress on the next phase of the ceasefire, Israel continued to bomb Gaza, with attacks against Gaza City and Beit Lahiya killing two children.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said that at least 48,524 people had been killed and 111,955 wounded in the War of Israel against Gaza.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the attacks led by October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken in captivity.
