Israel and Hamas resume negotiations amid continued tensions

He Prime Minister of IsraelBenjamin Netanyahu confirmed this Sunday his opposition to the demands presented by the Islamist group Palestinian Hamas for the next round of negotiations. Among Hamas’s demands is the end of the war in the Gaza Stripthe withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from the region, and keeping its organizational structure intact.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said these conditions have only hardened Hamas’ stance in the conflict. The negotiations, which seek to resume next week, have been on hold since May 10 with no signs of significant progress in recent months.

For his part, Izzat Al Risheq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, indicated that they have not yet received concrete proposals from the mediators, despite rumors about progress in the negotiations. Al Risheq reaffirmed the demand for a complete and permanent cessation of aggression throughout the Gaza Strip as a starting point for any agreement.

Future talks, agreed in collaboration with the United States and Qatar, will also seek to address the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Israel remains focused on the safe return of those abducted during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths. Of the 253 initially kidnapped, 121 remain in captivity in the enclave, with discrepancies between the death tolls reported by each party.

Since the beginning of the conflict, only a one-week truce agreement has been reached in late November, which allowed the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

In addition, four other hostages were freed by Hamas in October and three more were rescued by the Israeli Army, two of them in an operation in Rafah in February. In total, the bodies of 20 hostages have been recovered, including three killed by friendly fire in December.

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