Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk asserted that the group would need several months to locate all hostages still held in Gaza, including both the living and the dead.
Israeli officials swiftly rejected that explanation. A government representative in Jerusalem stated that Hamas’s claim was disingenuous, insisting the organization has full knowledge of the captives’ whereabouts. “Hamas cannot claim that it does not know where each one of the living hostages is. We know that they know, and we know that they can reach them. There are 20 living hostages,” the official said.
On Friday, Israel’s Kan 11 News reported that government sources believe Hamas’s recent response to President Donald Trump’s ceasefire and hostage-release proposal will lead to a new round of high-level negotiations intended to finalize both an end to the conflict and the hostages’ release.
The report added that those familiar with the talks expect Hamas to seek an extension beyond the agreed-upon 72-hour period stipulated in Trump’s plan for the release of all hostages.
While the identities and locations of the 20 surviving hostages held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad are known to the terror groups, Israeli officials are preparing for the likelihood that Hamas will use the issue of deceased captives to delay implementation of the deal or to push for an Israeli troop pullback. According to Kan 11 News, intermediaries have recently relayed messages to Jerusalem suggesting that Hamas could make such demands as part of the negotiation process.
{Matzav.com Israel}
