Hamas says solution reached over release of Palestinian prisoners

CAIRO – Hamas said on Feb 25 that it has agreed during a visit to Cairo on a solution to end the delay in the release of Palestinian prisoners.

The solution is to release the Palestinian prisoners simultaneously with the bodies of the dead Israeli hostages which it had agreed to hand over during the first phase of the deal, the Islamist militant group said in a statement.

Hamas said its delegation, led by the group’s Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya, has reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire agreement “with all its stages and clauses”.

Hamas said: “They (Palestinian prisoners) will be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners (hostages) agreed to be handed over during the first phase, in addition to the corresponding Palestinian women and children.”

There has been a stand-off over the release of more than 600 Palestinians, which Israel has delayed, accusing Hamas of breaching the agreement by making a public show of the handover of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

The Hamas statement suggests that a crisis that could have derailed the fragile ceasefire deal has been averted.

There has been no immediate comment from Israel.

On Feb 25, Israeli officials said Israel was considering

an extension of the 42-day truce in Gaza

as it seeks to bring home the remaining 63 hostages, while putting off an agreement on the future of the enclave for now.

The initial phase of the ceasefire deal, launched with the backing of the US and the help of Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Jan 19, is due to end on March 1, and it remains unclear what will follow.

Hamas official Basem Naim said progress could not be made while the prisoners were still being held, but added that Hamas was committed to a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The deal, which included the release of 33 Israeli hostages in return for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from some of their positions in Gaza, has survived numerous hiccups.

So far,

29 Israeli hostages – plus five Thais –

have been released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, with the bodies of four more Israeli hostages, initially due to be handed over on Feb 27, still to come.

The fighting in Gaza was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on Oct 7, 2023, in which Israel said about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken as hostages back to Gaza.

Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, Palestinian health officials say, and laid waste to much of the enclave.

Israel has said that Hamas cannot have any role in the future running of Gaza, and rejected a role for the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas has said it will not necessarily demand that it remain in charge of the enclave, which it has governed since 2007, but that it must be consulted. REUTERS