JNS
The officials are to meet with families of the 100 hostages still being held by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch is holding two-day working meetings in Israel this week with his counterparts from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Austria.
The first batch of talks were held on Tuesday morning at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. The forum met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at his residence in the afternoon.
"There is a major scar on our nation. There is a major scar on the face of the earth: the issue of the hostages," Herzog told the visiting envoys at the start of the meeting. "We want them back home as soon as possible."
"It's a huge task. We are supporting and hoping and praying and also calling on all parties to the negotiations in Qatar to move forward as much as possible and end this huge tragedy," the head of state said.
He added, "This is something that should not be acceptable anywhere in the world, in modern-day affairs, in human lives, in the international arena. The fact that you're here on behalf of such important nations is another example of how this issue is on the top of the agenda. It is the key to the door to moving forward for a better future."
On Wednesday, the officials are to meet with families of the 100 hostages still being held by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Monday that Hamas has agreed in principle to release 34 hostages as part of a ceasefire agreement, but is refusing or unable to confirm whether the designated captives are alive.
The 34 hostages' names appear on a list first published by foreign media earlier on Monday, but which was submitted to mediators in July according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.
An anonymous Hamas official told Saudi daily al-Sharq it would take about a week to determine the condition of each captive, a process the terrorist group is reportedly insisting it will undertake only after a ceasefire is in effect.
“This ‘humanitarian’ list, submitted by Israel to mediators several months ago, includes women, children, individuals over 50, as well as the sick and wounded," according to a statement released on Monday by the Directorate of Abductees and Missing Persons, led by Hirsch.
“Hamas has not provided any response regarding the status of the abductees on this list. Negotiations are ongoing, and we are making every effort to bring back all abductees, both living and deceased. The Directorate urges the public and media to act responsibly by refraining from publishing names or rumors that could harm the families or the efforts to secure the abductees’ return.”
According to Israeli estimates, there are 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity in Gaza, including 96 abducted during the terror group’s massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 251 people were taken.
Of those, 155 have been returned or rescued, and Hamas is believed to be holding 36 bodies, 34 of them taken on Oct. 7 and the remaining two being IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were kidnapped in 2014.
According to Ynet, Jerusalem is insisting on the release of several hostages before agreeing to a one-week ceasefire to allow Hamas to verify the status of 34 captives listed for potential release.
The main sticking point in the negotiations remains the number of live hostages to be freed. Israel has reportedly pushed for at least 24 hostages to be released in the deal’s initial phase, including injured male hostages under 50, as part of a humanitarian exchange.
