TEL AVIV, July 16. /TASS/. Israel has not received any official word from international mediators about the radical Hamas movement’s position on continuing talks on the release of hostages, Dmitry Gendelman, an adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office told TASS on Tuesday.
"Israel has not received an official refusal from international mediators on behalf of Hamas to continue negotiations," Gendelman said.
According to him, "Israel is in constant contact with international mediators on resuming talks on the return of our abducted citizens."
"Now the venue of the future negotiations is being decided upon. They may resume either in Egypt or Qatar," Gendelman noted.
He also said that Prime Minister Netanyahu's "insistence on maintaining red lines" in negotiations on the Gaza deal "is aimed at achieving two objectives: the swiftest return of the hostages and putting increased pressure on Hamas."
According to Gendelman, "this is the most proper time, when the military pressure on terrorists can yield positive results."
On May 31, US President Joe Biden announced his three-phase Israel-Palestine ceasefire plan, with each phase lasting six weeks. The first stage envisages a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated localities in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian inmates from Israeli prisons.
Apart from that, the parties are supposed to begin talks during this stage, with the ceasefire staying in place until they reach an agreement. Phase two provides for the release of all surviving hostages, including the military. The third stage will see the beginning of the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Gendelman told TASS earlier this week that Hamas wanted to introduce 29 amendments to the Gaza ceasefire plan supported by US President Biden, but Israeli PM Netanyahu rejected all of them. "Israel did not stray even an inch from the plan supported by President Biden," according to him.
Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and the elderly.
Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City.
In response, Israel launched a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to destroy Hamas military and political wings and free all hostages. In late November 2023, a temporary humanitarian ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, which lasted for a week.
During this time, 110 hostages were released, according to Israel. On December 1, the ceasefire was violated and hostilities resumed, continuing to this day.