HAMAS said it has exchanged lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners with Israel which will be returned home in peace negotiations.
But among the group’s demands is the release of the body of their terror mastermind, Yahya Sinwar, dubbed “Gaza’s Bin Laden”.
Hamas has demanded the release of October 7 architect Yahya SinwarReuters
Demonstrators gather to call for the release of the remaining hostages in Tel Aviv on October 7 this yearAFP
White HouseA map handed out by the White House showing the phases of withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip[/caption]
Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, which has been guiding the two days of negotiations in Egypt, says that all living and dead Israeli hostages should be returned.
It’s thought that around 20 of the remaining 48 hostages are alive.
In exchange, Israel should release 250 Palestinian prisoners seeing out life sentences, and a further 1,700 Gazans detained since the October 7 attack.
Hamas has been pushing for the release of as many big-name prisoners as possible, which it was feared could present a sticking point.
However, the names on these lists now appear to have been nailed down, according to a statement from Hamas.
The hostages are supposed to be returned within 72 hours of the plan being formally accepted and the first stage kicking in – which is the laying down of arms and withdrawal of the IDF to an agreed position.
But the exact moment the process will trigger has reportedly not yet been agreed.
Hamas has demanded that alongside the living prisoners, the bodies of slain leaders Yahya and Muhammad Sinwar are released, the Wall Street Journal reported.
It’s not clear whether that condition has been resolved – but Israel has previously rejected it.
Yahya was that mastermind behind the horrific October 7 attack, and continued to lead Hamas inside Gaza during the conflict.
He was taken out by a squad of trainee commandos on October 16 – just over a year into the fighting – and the assassination was caught on camera.
Sinwar was the last Hamas survivor from a gunfight amongst the crumbling ruins of Rafah.
The IDF flew a drone into the building where Sinwar was cowering, and spotted him when he lobbed a plank at it.
He was then eliminated with a shot to the head.
The soldiers had no idea they had just taken out the IDF’s top target, and his identity was only revealed after his body was transferred to Israel for analysis.
Hamas fighters and locals gather before handing over four Israeli hostages in JanuaryAFP
Netanyahu was ‘negative’ after Hamas partially accepted the peace deal, Trump saidGetty
Mohammed, his brother, then assumed the role of Hamas’s leader in the Gaza strip until he too was assassinated in May this year.
Cautious optimism is circulating that Hamas and Israel will agree on a deal – after Trump reportedly told Netanyahu to stop being “so negative”.
However, there are still conditions that could prove sticking points on both sides.
Trump’s blueprint requires Hamas to completely disarm and commit to playing no part in ruling Gaza after the war ends.
Power would be handed over to a transitional authority overseen by the Board of Peace – headed up by Trump and Tony Blair.
ReutersFootage released by the IDF claims to show a wounded Sinwar moments before he was killed in Gaza[/caption]
Yahya Sinwar was assassinated back in OctoberReuters
However, it is widely acknowledged that Hamas hopes to cling onto its capabilities and avoid total decimation.
The group has also said it would only accept power being handed straight to the Palestinians themselves – a position at odds with the plan for an international governing body.
In Israel, right-wing hardliners who want to see the war continue could threaten to derail the negotiations.
Daniel Kurtzer, a former US ambassador to both Israel and Egypt, said: “In the same way that Netanyahu doesn’t have his extremists on board. Hamas does not have their extremists on board.
“And so it’s a question, will the extremists have enough leverage to undermine the whole deal.”
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