A member of the Hamas Political Bureau has denied media reports quoting sources in the movement which claim that a prisoner exchange deal will begin today.
“There is no truth to reports by some media outlets — quoting sources in Hamas — regarding agreement on an exchange deal starting today,” said Izzat Al-Rishq. No further details were provided.
The Jerusalem Post pointed out that the Israeli government has also denied that a ceasefire deal has been arranged, with a release of hostages. The newspaper quoted a senior Israeli official as saying, “There is nothing yet.”
Hamas has suggested to Israel a truce for several days, the entry of fuel and food into Gaza, and the release of prisoners from Israeli prisons, in exchange for the release of a number of Israeli prisoners held in the enclave, including those with foreign citizenship. According to Israel, 239 of its citizens are being held by Hamas in Gaza, including soldiers.
In the meantime, Israel is continuing to wage its devastating war on the Palestinians in Gaza, which has killed 13,000 people, including 5,500 children and 3,500 women, as well as wounded more than 30,000, 75 per cent of whom were children and women. Calls have been made for an international investigation into the Israeli attacks on civilians, and an immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons.
Around 1,200 Israelis are said to have been killed when Hamas launched an attack on the occupation state on 7 October. An unknown but significant number of the victims were apparently killed by Israeli tank and helicopter fire.
READ: Hamas didn’t know about music festival in advance, say Israeli police
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
