Hamas Says it Will Only Release American-Israeli Hostage if Truce Agreement Implemented

Israeli D9 bulldozers maneuver inside the Gaza Strip, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, March 10, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israeli D9 bulldozers maneuver inside the Gaza Strip, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, March 10, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Hamas Says it Will Only Release American-Israeli Hostage if Truce Agreement Implemented

Israeli D9 bulldozers maneuver inside the Gaza Strip, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, March 10, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israeli D9 bulldozers maneuver inside the Gaza Strip, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, March 10, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Hamas said Saturday it would only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements the existing ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track.

According to The Associated Press, 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 would also need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt.

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 Tenafly, New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war, and is the last living American citizen held in Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, where government offices were closed for the weekly Sabbath.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Friday accused Hamas of “manipulation and psychological warfare” when the offer was initially made, before Hamas spelled out the conditions.

The United States said it presented on Wednesday a proposal to extend the ceasefire a few more weeks as the sides negotiate a permanent truce.

It said Hamas was claiming flexibility in public while privately making “entirely impractical” demands.

Negotiations continued in Egypt after senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Friday. Egypt and Qatar served as key mediators with Hamas in reaching the ceasefire and have continued to host talks aimed at getting it back on track.

There was no immediate comment from the mediators.

Under the ceasefire agreement reached in January, Israel and Hamas were to begin negotiations over a second phase — in which Hamas would release all the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting truce — in early February, but so far only preparatory talks have been held.

After the first phase ended at the beginning of this month, Israel said it had agreed to a new US proposal in which Hamas would release half the remaining hostages in return for a vague commitment to negotiate a lasting ceasefire. Hamas rejected that offer, accusing Israel of backtracking on the signed agreement and trying to sabotage the truce.

Israel has barred the delivery of food, fuel and other supplies to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians, and cut electricity to the territory, to pressure Hamas to accept the new proposal.

The first phase of the truce, which took hold on Jan. 19, saw the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces pulled back to a buffer zone along Gaza's border and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.

An Israeli official said last month that Israel will not withdraw from the so-called Philadelphi corridor, along the Gaza-Egypt border, as called for in the ceasefire agreement. They have cited the need to combat weapons smuggling.



Anti-Hamas Slogans Chanted at Hundreds-strong Protest in Gaza 

Children carry signs reading in Arabic: "We refuse to die" during a rally calling for an end to the war, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on March 25, 2025. (AFP)
Children carry signs reading in Arabic: "We refuse to die" during a rally calling for an end to the war, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on March 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Anti-Hamas Slogans Chanted at Hundreds-strong Protest in Gaza 

Children carry signs reading in Arabic: "We refuse to die" during a rally calling for an end to the war, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on March 25, 2025. (AFP)
Children carry signs reading in Arabic: "We refuse to die" during a rally calling for an end to the war, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on March 25, 2025. (AFP)

Hundreds of Palestinians shouted anti-Hamas slogans at a protest in northern Gaza on Tuesday calling for an end to the war with Israel, witnesses said.

The demonstrators chanted "Hamas out" and "Hamas terrorists" in Beit Lahia, where the crowd had gathered a week after the Israeli army resumed its intense bombing of Gaza following nearly two months of a truce.

On the social media network Telegram, at least one appeal to protest had circulated on Tuesday.

"I don't know who organized the protest," said Mohammed, a demonstrator who declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals.

"I took part to send a message on behalf of the people: Enough with the war," he said, adding that he had seen "members of the Hamas security forces in civilian clothing breaking up the protest".

Majdi, another protester who did not wish to give his full name, said the "people are tired".

"If Hamas leaving power in Gaza is the solution, why doesn't Hamas give up power to protect the people?" he asked.

As of Tuesday evening, Telegram messages from unknown sources were calling on people to reprise the demonstration in various parts of Gaza on Wednesday.

Israel regularly calls for Gazans to mobilize against the movement that has been in power in the territory since 2007.

Levels of discontent towards Hamas in Gaza are difficult to gauge.

The last available survey was conducted in September by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR).

It estimated that 35 percent of Palestinians in Gaza said they supported Hamas, and 26 percent said they supported its rival Fatah, the party of Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Fatah's spokesman in Gaza, Monther al-Hayek, called on Hamas Saturday to "step aside from governing" to safeguard the "existence" of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza Strip has been devastated by more than 17 months of war between Israel and Hamas, with the humanitarian situation again deteriorating after Israel blocked the passage of aid into the territory on March 2 in an attempt to force the fighters to release Israeli hostages.

Since Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza, at least 792 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The war was sparked by the group's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 50,021 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry.