Hamas ready to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners

Hamas leader Sinwar said the group was ready to carry out a hostage swap deal for Palestinian prisoners "immediately" with Israel.

"This agreement includes the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons in exchange for all prisoners held by Hamas," Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwa said in a statement on October 28.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said Sinwa's statements at this time were "psychological terrorism" and that Israel "will continue to use all options to return the hostages."

According to Aljazeera , 5,200 Palestinians are being held in Israel on various charges, mainly accused of threatening Israel's security.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwa in Gaza City in 2022. Photo: AFP

Earlier, spokesman Abu Obeida of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, also announced his readiness to release the hostages taken after the October 7 raid if Israel released all Palestinians being held in its prisons.

"If the enemy wants all these detainees to be released at once, we are ready. If they want to do it step by step, we are also ready," Obeida said.

Obeida stressed that Hamas was close to reaching a deal on the hostages, but Israel was delaying the possibility.

According to the Israeli military, about 230 hostages have been held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 raid, including Israelis, foreigners and dual nationals. Hamas has so far released four hostages for “humanitarian reasons”. The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said on October 26 that “nearly 50” hostages have been killed in Israeli attacks over the past three weeks.

Israel announced on October 28 that the war with Hamas had entered a "new phase," with its infantry maintaining operations in Gaza instead of withdrawing after the raid.

Gaza health authorities said on October 29 that more than 8,000 people have been killed in the enclave since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas's raid, half of them children. Fighting between the two sides has now killed a total of 9,400 people and injured more than 25,000.

Huyen Le (According to AFP , Reuters, Jerusalem Post )

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