Renewed Hope for Hostage Release

This week there is renewed hope for the release of Israeli hostages, after US President-elect Donald Trump issued a warning on Monday that there will be “all hell to pay” if hostages held in Gaza are not released by 20th January, when he returns to office in the White House.

Trump posted on social media that:

“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit
in the long and storied history of the United States of America.”

He has sent his chosen Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Qatar and Israel to kick-start renewed efforts to reach a deal, amid indications that the Qataris are resuming their role as a mediator. Witkoff is reported to have met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in November.

Arab media outlets have revealed some details from the draft proposal, which is being developed in Egypt where they are working to adapt the Lebanese ceasefire agreement to the situation in Gaza. It seeks to establish a ceasefire of up to two months and includes a redeployment of Israeli forces in Gaza, rather than an immediate withdrawal.

Two Israeli officials report that Israel has now given Hamas an updated version of the proposal, which reflects previous efforts, with one of them saying:

“The Egyptian and Qatari mediators believe Hamas might now agree
to a hostage-release and ceasefire deal, even if it is partial.”

The new proposal apparently offers a ceasefire of between 42 and 60 days, during which time the terrorists would release female hostages, male hostages over 50, and hostages in critical medical condition. It maintains Israel’s preparedness to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

This Israeli newspaper review about the negotiations comes from All Israel News: