Media reported on Israel's pending Hamas agreement on hostage deal

Israel is waiting for the Palestinian radical movement Hamas to agree to a hostage deal. N12 TV reported on January 5.

"All that separates Israel from the deal is the consent of Hamas. This means that if Hamas says yes, the deal is done. All the details have actually already been agreed upon," the piece said.

It is specified that in the Qatari Doha, where since December last year negotiations on cessation of hostilities in Gaza and exchange of prisoners of war mediated by Qatar and Egypt have been held, Hamas has so far refused to name the hostages who will be released.

However, as the publication notes, "an agreement could be reached in the coming weeks and the differences" between the parties could be resolved.

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Hamas and Israel accuse each other of stalling negotiations

Last December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that there was "some progress" in the negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a hostage exchange. He emphasized that the progress was due to military pressure on Hamas in Gaza and the death of the movement's politburo head, Yahya Sinwar.

Later that month, Hamas said Israel had imposed new conditions on its withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu's office said at the time that an Israeli delegation would leave Doha, where talks on the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip are underway, to hold "internal consultations."

In January this year, The Jerusalem Post reported that talks between Israel and Hamas on the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip and a cease-fire were making slow progress. In addition, a source familiar with the situation specified that the negotiating mediators are working "seriously and diligently" to shape a deal. According to him, there is "movement and even some flexibility on the sides" in the process, but the issue is still unresolved.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas launched a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Israel began retaliatory strikes the same day.

The Palestinians intend to return the borders between the two countries that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War, with possible land swaps. Palestine wants to establish its state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and make East Jerusalem its capital. Israel refuses these conditions.