Hamas has rejected an Israeli offer to free all hostages taken into the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of 1,500 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, Saudi media outlet Al-Arabiya reported on Thursday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that a deal on the release of hostages held by Hamas remains possible, but there remain “very hard” issues to be resolved.
Asked whether an agreement could be reached on a break in hostilities before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on March 10, Blinken said an earlier response from Hamas on a potential deal had included some “clear non-starters” but offered the possibility of working toward an agreement.
“We’re now in the process with our counterparts from Qatar, from Egypt, from Israel, in working on that and working very intensely on that with the goal of trying to find an agreement, and I believe that it is possible,” Blinken said at a news conference during a visit to Albania.
“There are some very, very hard issues that have to be resolved. But we’re committed to doing everything we can to move forward and to see if we can reach an agreement,” Blinken said.
Blinken was speaking at a news conference during a visit to Albania days after talks involving the US, Egypt, Israel, and Qatar on a deal that would see a pause in fighting in Gaza ended without a breakthrough on Tuesday.
IDF launches operation to retrieve Gaza hostages’ bodies
The IDF has launched a targeted operation within Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, aiming to apprehend Hamas terrorists and recover the bodies of hostages.
In a Thursday briefing, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated, “Sadly, we know that some hostages are no longer alive. We are committed to finding and returning the bodies of those hostages in Gaza.
“We have credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages, indicating that Hamas held hostages at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis and that there may be bodies of our hostages in the Nasser hospital facility,” Hagari continued.
Reuters and Alex Winston contributed to this report. This is a developing story.
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