Hamas: No more captive swap until war ends; Israeli reports aim to relieve pressure
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas says there will be no new captive swap with Israel until the unrelenting aggression against the besieged territory stops.
In a press briefing in Beirut on Monday, Osama Hamdan, Hamas representative in Lebanon and also a member of the group’s politburo dismissed reports that said Israel is ready to resume contact with mediators for the possible release of the remaining Israeli captives held in Gaza.
“There will be no agreement on the exchange of more captives for prisoners before the onslaught [against Gaza] ceases. The Israeli media reports about the possibility of a new prisoner swap [with Hamas] are meant to mislead the public opinion in the face of increasing domestic discontent,” Hamdan said.
“No compromise is acceptable over the blood of fallen Palestinians. [Israeli prime minister] Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to escape from the regime’s internal conflicts, especially the crisis with the families of the captives held in Gaza.”
Earlier on Monday, Israel’s Channel 12 television channel reported that the new prisoner exchange deal would be carried out within the framework of a truce, and would include women still in captivity, patients, the wounded, and elderly people.
It added that Israeli officials believe that the chances of reaching a new prisoner swap deal with Hamas are not likely next week, but Israel still believes in opening a new path.
Since November 24, Hamas exchanged 110 captives, including 80 Israelis, for 240 Palestinians illegally abducted by the regime and kept in Israeli jails during a 7-day pause in the Gaza war.
The truce, meditated by Qatar and Egypt, also allowed the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza after weeks of Israeli attacks on the territory.
Israeli sources say Hamas still holds 137 captives after it carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7 in the occupied territories, during which some 1,200 Israeli settlers and military forces were also killed.
