Media reported Hamas willingness to release 34 hostages for truce with Israel

A senior representative of the radical Hamas movement has provided a list of 34 hostages the group is ready to release in the first stage of a possible truce agreement with Israel. This was reported by the BBC channel on January 6.

It is specified that among the hostages there are 10 women, 11 men aged 50-85 years, as well as small children. The list still includes people with health problems. However, the TV station reports that it is unclear how many of the 34 people are still alive, as Israeli airstrikes over the weekend killed 100 people, which could include the hostages.

But the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied a report that Hamas had handed over the hostage list to the state.

"The list of abductees published in the media was not handed over to Israel, but was originally handed over by Israel to mediators back in July 2024. <...> To date, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment from Hamas regarding the status of the abductees on the list," the BBC quoted a spokesman for the office as saying.

According to the channel, the decision of the Palestinian group to publicize the names of the hostages can be regarded as an attempt to put pressure on the Israeli government.

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Hamas and Israel accuse each other of stalling negotiations

Earlier, on January 5, it became known that Israel is waiting for consent from Hamas to conclude a deal on the hostages. All the details have actually already been agreed upon.

Prior to that, on January 3, it was reported that negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip and ceasefire are moving slowly. In addition, a source familiar with the situation specified that the mediators of the talks are working "seriously and diligently" to form a deal. According to him, there is "movement and even some flexibility on the sides" in the process, but the issue is still unresolved.

In December last year, Hamas said Israel had imposed new conditions on withdrawal from Gaza. At the same time, Netanyahu's office said that an Israeli delegation would leave Doha, where negotiations on the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip are underway, to hold "internal consultations."

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

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected Israeli territory to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. 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.