Hamas lists captives it may free under ceasefire

KABUL (Pajhwok): Hamas has listed 34 hostages it is ready to free in the first stage of a potential ceasefire deal with Israel, a media report said on Monday.

The BBC said a senior official of the Palestinian group shared with it the list, including 10 women and 11 older male hostages aged between 50 and 85.

Children that Hamas previously said had been killed in an Israeli air strike, as well as a number of ailing hostages, are also on the list.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied reports that Israel had received a list of captives from Hamas.

Ceasefire negotiations resumed in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend, but the talks do not appear to have made significant progress yet.

Reuters quoted a Hamas official as linking any agreement on freeing Israeli hostages to Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire or end to the conflict.

The official said: "However, until now, the occupation continues to be obstinate over an agreement over the issues of the ceasefire and withdrawal, and has made no step forward."

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli military has killed at least 45,805 people in Gaza as of Saturday, says the Hamas-run health ministry.

PAN Monitor/mud