Hamas is currently holding roughly 240 hostages. Many of the hostages are believed to be from foreign countries, including about a dozen Americans. Hamas released four hostages after earlier negotiations arbitrated by Qatar.
Qatar is a key financial backer and ally of the Palestinian militant organization
Hamas. Qatar has transferred more than $1.8 billion to Hamas.
In 2012, Qatar has hosted the Hamas party leadership when Hamas head
Khaled Meshalrelocated from Syria to Qatar. The current head of Hamas,
Ismail Haniyeh, has resided in
Doha since 2016.
en.wikipedia.org
A deal between
Israel and the militant group Hamas to release some hostages could be reached in the coming days, though no terms have been finalized yet, according to several U.S. officials.
"We think that we are closer than we have been, perhaps at any point since these negotiations began weeks ago," U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
Officials have been tight-lipped when speaking publicly on the hostage negotiations, due to the sensitive and malleable nature of the talks. They have made it
clear, however, that nothing has been decidedly settled.
Hamas is currently holding roughly 240 hostages, many of whom are believed to be from foreign countries.
apple.news
Following the
Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and the outbreak of the
2023 Israel–Hamas war, Qatar's hosting of the Hamas political office in Doha has come under greater scrutiny. Speaking to the media in Doha alongside Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "there can be no more business as usual with Hamas."
Hamas is currently holding roughly 240 hostages. Many of the hostages are believed to be from foreign countries, including about a dozen Americans. Hamas released four hostages after earlier negotiations arbitrated by Qatar.
The timeline for the deal appears to have become a matter of hours and days, not weeks.
Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog said on ABC's "This Week" that "a significant number of hostages" could be free "in the coming days." "The less we go into the details, the better the chances of such a deal, but they are very serious efforts," Herzog said.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani
said at a Sunday press conference that many of the major points of contention have been worked through in the hostage deal and all that is left is to settle logistical terms.
Negotiations have been stalled at different points over the past few weeks. For example, in
late October, the discussions broke down after Hamas refused to cooperate until Israel allowed fuel to come into Gaza….
for the hospitals right? To power the generators to power the infants incubators? Right?
Doctors and health officials in Gaza say Israel’s public gestures are inadequate, given Al-Shifa’s immense needs.
www.nbcnews.com
Finer said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that the deal would "certainly" lead to the release of "more than dozens" of hostages?
More than dozens?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
repeatedly said that Israel will not begin to consider a cease-fire until all of Hamas' hostages have been released.
With the current work-in-progress deal, Israel is only considering a temporary pause in attacks that would allow for the safe passage of the released hostages, not a wholesale cease-fire. Israeli officials including Netanyahu and Herzog have rebuffed those calls, claiming that a cease-fire would allow Hamas to regroup and restore their resources to launch another attack against Israel.
The Israeli military has released footage which it says shows hostages being taken into Gaza's largest hospital after the deadly Hamas attacks of 7 October.
A military spokesman said one of them - a soldier - was murdered there.
Cpl Noa Marciano, 19, was killed after being taken into al-Shifa hospital with minor injuries, he said.
"This morning we updated Noa's family that according to our findings, she was kidnapped to a safe house near Shifa," Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, IDF chief spokesperson told reporters.
"During IDF air strikes in the area, the Hamas terrorist who was holding Noa was killed and she was wounded in the air strike, but not a life-threatening injury. Noa was taken inside Shifa hospital, where she was murdered by another Hamas terrorist."
Hamas has previously claimed Ms Marciano was killed in an Israeli air strike, which the IDF said occurred on 9 November.
Rear Adm Hagari then played CCTV footage which he said was from the morning of 7 October - the day Hamas launched its surprise attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 240 taken hostage.
The video showed two hostages being brought into the hospital, Gaza's largest and most modern.
Israel says the video - which the BBC has not verified - shows captives were taken to al-Shifa on 7 October.
apple.news
Responding to the video released by Israel, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said it was not able to confirm the authenticity of the footage.
The ministry also said it was Israel which bore full responsibility for the deterioration and collapse of health services in Gaza…
because Jews!? 
Footage of a very large tunnel in Gaza being blown up by the Israeli Defense Forces.
youtube.com
en.m.wikipedia.org
torontosun.com
