https://wsj.com/world/middle-east/hamas-open-to-releasing-some-i…
Officials of Palestinian militant group Hamas have told international mediators that they are open to discussing a deal to release some of the kidnapped Israelis they are holding hostage in exchange for a significant pause in fighting, Egyptian officials said Tuesday.
The overture marks a significant shift by Hamas, which for weeks has insisted it would only negotiate on hostages as part of a comprehensive agreement that would lead to a permanent end to the war that has engulfed Gaza since Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel says 1,200 people were killed in the attacks and over 240 taken hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment. Hamas didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Hamas’s latest proposal comes as fierce fighting rages in the group’s last major stronghold, the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Israel says that senior Hamas figures are hiding in tunnels under Khan Younis with at least some of the hostages.
Egyptian officials said Hamas expressed openness to a deal to release all remaining civilian women and children being held. In November, 105 hostages were released, most of them Israeli civilian women and children exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel and a weeklong cease-fire.
Around 130 hostages remain captive in Gaza, including 19 women and two children, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office. Some of the women are Israeli soldiers. Five of the women hostages may be dead, Israeli authorities have said.
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