Axios: Israel is eager for a new deal with Hamas to release prisoners in exchange for a ceasefire

According to Fars News Agency, a news site close to Israeli and American sources reported that Tel Aviv is willing to reach a new agreement with Hamas for the release of female prisoners in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Axios website, quoting informed sources, reported that Mossad chief David Barnea will meet with the Prime Minister of Qatar in the coming days and discuss with him the resumption of negotiations regarding the release of prisoners from Gaza.

According to Axios, this will be the first meeting between a senior Israeli official and Qatari officials after the collapse of the seven-day ceasefire in Gaza. After the end of that ceasefire, the Israeli regime expanded its operations to southern Gaza.

Axios writes that Israel’s return to the negotiating table indicates its readiness to consider a new agreement for the exchange of prisoners. Israel claims that the last agreement collapsed two weeks ago after Hamas refused to release the captive women. Despite this, Hamas blamed Israel for the failure of the agreement and said that the women whom Israel demanded to be released were Israeli soldiers.

On Friday, the Israeli army announced that three Israeli prisoners killed in Gaza by mistake. The Israeli army claimed that these prisoners had either managed to escape or that Hamas had released them during intense clashes in northern Gaza. Shortly after the Israeli army’s statement, several of The family members of the Israeli prisoners who have not been released yet asked Netanyahu’s cabinet to propose a new plan for the prisoner exchange agreement.

Axios writes that Hamas still has 130 prisoners. More than 100 prisoners were released in exchange for a truce that lasted for 7 days.

Qatari media last Sunday to check whether the Israeli sides are willing to resume talks on a new agreement. Did they contact the Israeli authorities? They wanted to see if Tel Aviv would agree to a ceasefire lasting more than a day in exchange for the release of the remaining women.

Last week after Qatar rejected the offer. Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his war cabinet opposed the Mossad chief’s visit to Qatar, but after this decision caused controversy, Netanyahu changed his position and allowed Barnea to interact with the Qataris.

An Israeli source said Tel Aviv expressed willingness to discuss a new deal that would include the release of the remaining female prisoners. On Thursday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with the head of the Mossad for two hours and discussed with him the resumption of negotiations for the release of prisoners. Estimates show that 132 Israeli prisoners are still imprisoned in Gaza, of which 112 are believed to be alive and 20 of them have been killed.

According to the CNN report, of these 132 people, 113 are men and 19 are women, two children are under 18 years old and 10 people are over 75 years old.

Among them, 121 are Israelis and 11 are foreign nationals, including 8 Thais, 1 Nepali, 1 Tanzanian and a Mexican-French dual citizen.

In this statement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office also announced that 110 live prisoners were released by Hamas during the prisoner exchange agreement, of which 86 were Israelis and 24 were foreigners.

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