Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night directed his negotiating team to prepare for renewed hostage-ceasefire talks based on U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal that seeks the immediate release of 11 living captives and half of the bodies still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
The decision was made following a ministerial meeting in Jerusalem, and amid an apparent impasse in negotiations in Doha.
The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed that 35 of the 59 hostages still held by Palestinian terrorists in the Strip are dead. Intelligence assessments indicate that 22 remain alive, while the status of two is uncertain.
The crisis stems from the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on southern Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people, injured thousands, and led to the abduction of 251 individuals to Gaza, triggering a regional war.
US condemns Hamas demands
Witkoff on Friday accused Hamas of stalling negotiations by demanding “impractical” conditions for an extended truce.
“Unfortunately, Hamas has chosen to respond by publicly claiming flexibility while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire,” Witkoff said. “Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Hamas’s terms as “nuts,” reaffirming Washington’s commitment to securing the release of all 59 captives.
“These trades that are being made, they’re ridiculous—400 people for three. These are nuts,” Rubio said at the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec. “We’re dealing with some savages. … These are bad people, terrible people, and we need to treat them as such.”
Hamas offer rejected as ‘psychological warfare’
On Friday, Hamas offered to release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, 21, along with the bodies of four dual nationals, in an apparent attempt to restart stalled negotiations. Netanyahu dismissed the offer as “psychological warfare.”
“While Israel accepted the Witkoff plan, Hamas persisted in its refusal and did not move a millimeter,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated. “At the same time, [Hamas] continues to employ manipulation.”
Alexander, a soldier from Tenafly, N.J., is the only one of five American hostages in Gaza believed to still be alive.
Israel has agreed to the U.S.-backed proposal, which would extend a ceasefire through Ramadan (ending March 29) and Passover (April 12–19). However, Hamas has rejected the plan, insisting on advancing to a second phase of negotiations.
Meanwhile, Israel is reportedly preparing to resume its military campaign against Hamas in the coming weeks. It has also restricted aid and cut the electricity supply to Gaza amid the ongoing conflict.
