New Delhi, Feb 19: Hamas has proposed a large-scale prisoner exchange in which all remaining Israeli hostages would be swapped for Palestinian prisoners in a single deal, in a one go aiming to secure a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli forces withdrawal from Gaza.
Al Jazeera and AP news agency reported that the proposal is part of negotiations for the second phase of the current truce agreement.However, Israel’s security cabinet remains committed to its goal of dismantling Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and several other countriesIn addition, the Palestinian group has also confirmed that it will release the bodies of four Israeli captives on Thursday and free six living hostages on Saturday.According to AP, a senior Hamas official announced that the militant group will release six living hostages on Saturday and return the bodies of four others on Thursday. This development represents an acceleration of the release process, which appears to be tied to Israel allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza.The six hostages slated for release are Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham Al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Cohen, 27, Shem Tov, 22, and Wenkert, 23, were abducted from a music festival, while Shoham was taken from Kibbutz Beeri. Al-Sayed, 36, and Mengistu, 39, had been held for years after crossing into Gaza before the October 7 attack.AP reports that this release deviates from the original terms of the ceasefire, which had initially planned for three living hostages to be freed on Saturday, followed by three more a week later. The return of the bodies was initially scheduled for the end of the truce’s first phase.An Israeli official, speaking anonymously, told the AP that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to allow mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza to help facilitate the hostage release.Israel began permitting the entry of rubble-clearing equipment into Gaza on Tuesday, according to AP journalists in the region. Bulldozers were seen removing debris near the Rafah border crossing, while dozens more heavy machines were reportedly stationed at another crossing, awaiting Israeli approval.The scale of destruction in Gaza is immense. A report released by the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union estimates that rebuilding the enclave could cost $53.2 billion. The report assessed war-related damage at nearly $30 billion, with almost half attributed to the destruction of homes.The war’s toll continues to mount. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that 48,291 Palestinians have been killed and 111,722 wounded in Israel’s military campaign. TThe officials in Gaza updated its death toll to at least 61,709, stating that thousands of people buried under the rubble are now presumed dead.
