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Israel-Hamas hostage release negotiations nearing conclusion… ‘Last minute nerve war’
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As the war between Israel and Hamas enters its seventh week, speculation continues that the two sides have agreed for the first time to release some hostages and a temporary ceasefire.
Let’s connect with the newsroom to find out more details.
Reporter Lee Jun-sam.
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The ‘negotiable settlement theory’ continues even after a day.
Yesterday, Sunday, foreign media reported that Israel and Hamas had reached a tentative agreement to temporarily stop fighting and release some hostages.
This morning, Arabic and Israeli media continued to report that Hamas officials had reached an agreement and that fighting would cease at 11 a.m. on the 20th, local time.
It is known that the main gist of the negotiations is that both sides will stop fighting for five days and release dozens of women and children among the hostages held by Hamas.
The U.S. White House and Israeli officials are also weighing the possibility of reaching an agreement.
Let’s listen directly to the related comments from the Israeli Ambassador to the United States.
“We hope to be able to rescue a significant number of hostages within a few days. I do not want to go into the details of these negotiations further.”
However, the cautious opinion that “negotiations are not concluded until a final agreement” still remains.
In particular, an Israeli government official dismissed the report that Hamas reportedly stated that fighting ceased at 11 a.m., saying that there was no such agreement.
The Qatari government, which is mediating these negotiations, is still expressing confidence in reaching an agreement, saying “the obstacles are very minor.”
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The hostages should return safely to their families as soon as possible, but it remains to be seen whether negotiations will be reached.
On the other hand, there is also an assessment that there are signs of a rift between the United States and Israel as civilian casualties increase rapidly due to this war. Let’s take a look at this news as well.
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Yes, the Israeli military continues to expand its street fighting in the Gaza Strip to eradicate Hamas.
In particular, signals are being sent that the operation will be expanded to the southern region, where hundreds of thousands of residents have been evacuated.
In response to this, White House Deputy National Security Advisor John Finer directly sent a warning, saying that the operation to eliminate Hamas should not be launched in the southern region until the safety issue of refugees is resolved.
Previously, the Israeli military had requested civilians in the northern part of the Gaza Strip to evacuate to the south ahead of the deployment of ground forces in the Gaza Strip.
Accordingly, it is known that about two-thirds of the total 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip have fled to the south.
There are also media reports in the United States that say, ‘President Biden’s support for Israel is being tested to its limits as civilian casualties soar.’
When it comes to how to govern the Gaza Strip after the war, the United States maintains that it respects the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, but Israel strongly opposes it, saying it could lead to a recurrence of terrorism.
This is Lee Jun-sam of Yonhap News from the newsroom so far.
Yonhap News TV article inquiries and reports: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23
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