UPDATE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the full cabinet to back a deal to exchange Palestinian prisoners for Israelis held hostage in Gaza, saying that the security forces support the deal and that the war on Hamas would continue.
“Before us tonight is a difficult decision, but it is the right decision: all the security forces support it, fully,” Netanyahu said in a video statement at the beginning of the meeting.
“They understood that the war effort would not only not hurt, but the opposite: this would allow the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to prepare for the continuation of the fighting. And I would like to make it clear here again: the war continues, the war will continue until we achieve all of our goals: to eliminate Hamas, to return all our hostages, to ensure that the day after Hamas, Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel, there will be no element in it that supports terrorism, that educates its children to terror , and who threaten the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
According to Eylon Levy, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, it is confirmed that the full Knesset will meet tonight to go over a possible deal to release many of the 239 hostages taken by Hamas in their brutal attack on the Jewish state on October 7th. It has been 46 days since Hamas killed over 1,200 people and took 239 women, children, men and Holocaust survivors hostage.
A senior Hamas official said Tuesday that an agreement could be reached soon in which the militant group would release hostages in return for Israel freeing Palestinian prisoners. Any proposed deal for the hostages would have to be agreed upon by the majority of the Knesset according to Israeli law. It is expected that the lawmakers would agree to a hostage deal at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Another part of Israeli law allows for anyone whose family member was killed by a Palestinian being held in prison has the right to petition the court not to allow the release person responsible for the murder to not be released.
Meanwhile, the key players in the drama of the release of the hostages have been Israel, the United States and Qatar, all of whom have been engaged in mediation with Hamas. This team of negotiators has been working on the framework of a hostage release deal for over 40 plus days.
At the heart of the talks has been a temporary ceasefire or series of pauses in the ongoing war taking place in Gaza. Also making things more complex is that an estimated 40 to 50 hostages are not under Hamas control but are in the hands of warlords and people sympathetic to the terrorists’ cause.
It is expected that if many hostages are released, their exit from Gaza will be handled by the International Red Cross. The organization would first tend to any injuries the hostages might have and then make sure the possible way to get them out of Gaza is safe.
Egypt may also play a big role in the release of the hostages. Members of their military have facilitated the safe transport of people from Gaza to Israel and are trusted by both parties.
