CAIRO (news agencies) — Hamas said Saturday it will only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements their ceasefire agreement, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed nine people in Gaza including local journalists, medics and a watchdog said.
A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire’s second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel also would need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt. Israel has said it won’t withdraw there, citing the need to combat weapons smuggling.
Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.
Edan Alexander, 21, who grew up in New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. He is the last living U.S. citizen held in Gaza. Hamas still has 59 hostages, 35 believed to be dead.
Speaking at a protest camp set up last week outside Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, relatives of hostages said Netanyahu was “violating the agreement he signed and abandoning the hostages in Gaza.”
“You want to sacrifice our children for the pleasures of power,” said Itzik Horn, father of hostage Eitan and freed hostage Iair.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Saturday told negotiators to prepare for the continuation of talks regarding the release of hostages, his office said.
Two Israeli airstrikes in the northern town of Beit Lahiya near the border killed at least nine people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Center, a local watchdog, said the dead included three Palestinian journalists who were documenting aid distribution. Local health official Fares Awad identified one as Mahmoud Islim, who was operating a drone.
The Israeli military said it struck two people operating a drone that it said posed a threat to soldiers in the area. It said it launched another strike at a group of people who came to collect the drone equipment. The army identified all of those targeted as suspected militants, without providing evidence.
The UK-based Al Khair Foundation said that eight of its workers were killed in the drone strikes in Beit Lahiya.
In a statement, Shuaib Yusaf, the charity’s CEO, denied the Israeli military’s allegations that the killed workers were militants or have connections to Hamas.
Hamas in a statement called the attack a “serious escalation” showing Israel’s attempts to “sabotage any opportunity” to implement the ceasefire agreement.
Also Saturday, Israel’s military said it removed a platoon of soldiers from Gaza who were seen in a video on social media opening fire during a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Purim. The video shows soldiers shooting, apparently randomly, while another performs the customary reading of the Book of Esther. The military said the soldiers “will face disciplinary measures.”
No major fighting has occurred in Gaza since the ceasefire took hold on Jan. 19, but Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military said had entered unauthorized areas, engaged in militant activities or otherwise violated the truce.
