According to Hamas, its forty surviving detainees do not fit the “humanitarian” requirements for an Israeli ceasefire deal involving hostages for prisoners.
During discussions in Cairo over the weekend, a top Israeli official affirmed this claim.
According to the Guardian UK, the militant group claimed that none of the 40 hostages it currently holds in Gaza satisfy the requirements for exchange.
The US-backed plan for a progressive exchange of prisoners and hostages has been the main focus of the ceasefire negotiations.
Initially, a six-week truce in Gaza would be combined with the exchange of an estimated 900 Palestinian detainees being held by Israel for women, children, the elderly, sick, and five female Israeli troops.
The story says that Hamas doesn’t seem eager to make up the numbers for a conversation with the male hostages who are still alive.
It has been difficult to find trustworthy information about the number of hostages still alive, their whereabouts, and the person holding them.
William Burns, the head of the CIA, has put up a fresh plan in an attempt to close the divide between the two sides.
In the first of a three-phase agreement, the US is putting pressure on Israel to agree to free 900 Palestinian prisoners and permit Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.
There have been no indications of progress in the discussions, which recommenced on Sunday, on the proposal put forth by US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators, which Hamas claimed to be reviewing.
During the strike, over 240 hostages were carried into Gaza by Hamas, along with some of the dead from their attack on southern Israel on October 7.
112 hostages have been brought back to Israel alive thus far.
105 of those were freed as part of a trade in the previous year.