Netanyahu Under Pressure to Accept Hostage Deal Amid New Hamas Demands
The IDF on Sunday announced that it had eliminated the commander of Hamas’s naval force in a strike in northern Gaza.
With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heading to Washington to meet President Donald Trump, diplomatic and domestic political pressure is rising on him to agree to a hostage deal with Hamas.
After Hamas, over the weekend, added demands to the temporary ceasefire proposal presented by President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected them as being “unacceptable.” The Gaza-based jihadist group is demanding that Israel release several high-level terrorists, including leaders of various terrorist groups, in return for a partial release of hostages after 21 months of fighting that began as a result of the October 7 massacre.
President Trump’s proposal “would see about half of the living hostages and about half of the dead hostages held by terror groups in Gaza returned to Israel over 60 days, in five separate releases,” The Times of Israel noted.
The deal “would leave 22 hostages still held in Gaza, 10 of them believed to be alive. It is not clear whether Israel or Hamas would determine who is to be released,” the news website added.
On Sunday, the Israeli media outlet Ynetnews reported the details of the terrorists that Hamas has demanded as part of the deal:
An Israeli delegation left for Doha on Sunday to join the talks. According to reports, the negotiations center on a proposal for a 60-day truce during which 10 live Israeli hostages and 18 bodies of hostages who had been killed would be delivered to Israel and 1,000 Palestinians serving prison sentences, including 100 who were sentenced to life, would be released from jail.
Among them would be prisoners Israel has thus far refused to release, some of whom would likely assume leadership positions in terror groups.
Palestinian officials said the releases would change the political power struggle in the West Bank in particular and would include popular figures such as Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences + 40 years for his role in the murder of five Israelis and the wounding of more. (…)
Hamas is demanding the release of Ahmad Sa’adat, the chairman of the Popular Front (PFLP), who was the mastermind of the assassination of Israeli minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Hamas is also demanding the release of Abdullah Bargouthi, a senior member of the Hamas military wing in the West Bank who was serving 67 life sentences for his role in fatal terror attacks during the second intifada.
Other hardened terrorists that would be demanded by Hamas list include Hassan Salame who is serving a term of 46 life sentences for planning terror attacks killing 100 Israelis; and Abbas a-Sayed, who was sentenced to 35 life sentences for his role in the attack on the Park Hotel in Netanya in 2002, where 30 people were murdered.
In addition to the freeing of convicted terrorists, Hamas is asking Israel to restore the aid distribution mechanism, which gave it control over the food and other humanitarian supplies entering Gaza. The terrorist group also wants an indefinite truce in a bid to regroup and rearms its fighters, and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave.
Hamas made new demands regarding “aid distribution in the Gaza Strip, the withdrawal of IDF troops, and a commitment to not resume fighting after the 60-day period ends,” Ynetnews reported in a separate report Sunday.
IDF eliminates Hamas naval force commander, carries out covert operation in Syria
The IDF on Sunday announced that it had eliminated the commander of Hamas’s naval force in a strike in northern Gaza. “[Last] Monday the IDF, guided by IDF and ISA intelligence, struck and eliminated the terrorist Ramzi Ramadan Abd Ali Saleh, Commander of Hamas’ Naval Force in the northern Gaza Strip,” the military disclosed in a statement.
“Saleh was a significant source of knowledge in the Hamas terrorist organization, and in recent weeks was involved in planning and advancing maritime terrorist attacks against IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF statement added. “The terrorist was eliminated in Gaza City while he was operating in a structure with additional terrorists.”
IDF troops and special forces also carried out covert operations in Syria, destroying military infrastructure left behind by the ousted Assad regime along Israel’s northern border.
The IDF revealed on Sunday that “a reserve battalion from the 810th Brigade, together with troops from the Yahalom Unit, dismantled several former Syrian regime military posts in Syria.”
“These posts formed the enemy’s forward line near Mount Hermon summit and posed a direct threat to IDF positions in the Hermon sector,” the IDF added. “The brigade’s troops continue to proactively conduct operations in southern Syria to protect the residents of the State of Israel and the residents of the Golan Heights in particular.”
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Comments
Not sure why they are f88king about so much on this. They SHOULD make it clear that the fighting can stop when every single hostage is returned.
Actually, I’d make it conditional on two things;
– return all hostages.
– complete Hamas unconditional surrender.
Although is settle for all hostages being returned.
Exactly. Hamas started the war. Hamas lost the war. Why does Hamas get to set the terms? No other country would be expected to put up with this.
Alive. But many are dead.
Therefore I don’t know why there’s any deal to be made.
It is my understanding from a Jewish friend that Jews will do about anything to give even a smidgen of a Jew’s DNA to bury. Hamas knows this but so does Netanyahu. Thus a possible impasse.
Jewish hostages and yes, unconditional surrender. Israel will only have another 10/7 if
they cave here. OT wars were not so kind to their non-Jewish enemies. This is also a war of Jewish faith vs. Islam. No different than OT wars against pagan entities. It’s just that today’s non-Jewish entities (Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and their off shoots) are far less likely to start wars against Jews. Islam has the opposite goal – Oppose Jews anywhere, any time under any circumstances whenever possible. Israel would
be the crown jewel but Islam would not stop there. Remember, we’re the big Satan.
President Trump should not sell out Israel for a “victory”
Easy to say, but at this point, finish the job. The Nazis were not left in charge to re0build Germany. Expand outreach to Gazans that want Hamas gone.
Expanding outreach is pretty hard when Hamas kills them just for accepting aid from the new aid stations. They should be moved. That’s what Trump should be busy arranging.
Israel will probably never be in this superior position against Hamas as it is now and should finish the job. It has become horribly clear that without hostages Hamas would have been eliminated long ago. Guess what the first thing any terrorist group will now do because of Hamas? TAKE HOSTAGES! As brutal as it is, there should be no negotiations for hostages. It goes against all that is decent but it only fuels more evil to allow the hostages to become pawns. Give them one ultimatum, surrender all hostages or be wiped off the face of the earth!
Israel just needs to wipe these terrorists and the Iranian leaders off of the planet. That’s the negotiation: you die, we win.
The longer Netanyahu sticks to the tried and failed tactic of Sits krieg instead of Blitzkrieg the more political pressure he builds for himself.
If you are explaining that you are not losing because of inches and feet (in a territory that frankly should have fallen by now and should be under a transition to post-Hamas rule) you are losing.
America lost the Vietnam war despite a hopelessly one sided casualty rate of Vietnamese military casualties per American casualty.
If Netanyahu is serious about winning the war the time is now and it is late because it wasn’t yesterday.
The international losses Israel is taking per day are irreplaceable and devastating. Loss of bipartisan support from America will be very devastating long term for Israel.
agree
we won vietnam but “admitting” to it would have caused even more turmoil in america
This is why Israel should execute terrorist leaders instead of putting them in prison for life. They don’t stay there for life and it incentives hostage taking.
but thats EXACTLY WHY THEY DO NOT execute them
b/c they know the dnc of the middle east will in fact snatch innocent people off the streets, from concerts etc and then they can use these terrorists as exchange
Why is Trump telling Netanyahu what to do about Israeli hostages? He already got the American out (and Israel apparently paid a heavy price for it) so Trump has no business doing this anymore.
If this is how it sounds, it may be time for Israel to go its own way. They’ll be able to buy some old bombers from us, and the rest they know how to make, in many cases better than we do or it’s time for the Jewish employees of our tech companies to return home.
Then it would be too late for Trump. He shouldn’t push like this.
The only “deal” that should be contemplated is total destruction of the goose-stepping, genocidal, Islamofascist/Muslim terrorist Hamas thugs. Anything else is delusion.
open up gaza etc to control by western forces not called the united nations
after 5 more weeks of surgical strikes to eliminate the blmplo of the area
Israel needs to quit mucking about and finish the fight. Clear out whatever’s left of Gaza, secure it and figure out how to deal with the Palestinians without any known Hamas members lurking around.
They allow Hamas to re-hurt the victims families with every new talks of discussions or deals etc. Hamas knows this and uses it to pressure the Israeli government into accepting terrible deals for the promised release of hostages that may or may not be alive/released. The emotional manipulation is obvious for all to see and akin to torture for the kidnapped Israelis families.
Israel should implement a zero ransom negotiations policy for victims of kidnapping. Eliminating the incentives for kidnapping will all but end it in practice. Yes it may result in them just murdering someone but the alternative is arguably better in practice for victims and a fate worse than death for others.
Lastly Israel should start executing the worst of the worst criminals again. Make an example out of them for all to see, show Hamas and everyone else who wants you dead some strength. The only thing Muslims respect is power.
Israel had a no-negotiation policy until a few decades ago. Abandoning that was a huge mistake.
The usual suspects demanding the release of terrorist murderers for people taken hostage by Hamas. How about just releasing all the remaining hostage both live and dead then an unconditional ceasefire with all the terrorists that were involved in the attacks being turned over then we might talk about a ceasefire.
On Sunday night, the Department of Justice and the FBI released a document concluding that notorious child predator Jeffrey Epstein did not have a “client list” and that he did not murder, but instead committed suicide.
The FBI also released a video showing an empty hallway, which they claim proves that Epstein took his own life.
According to the FBI memo, there is no evidence that Epstein blackmailed powerful political figures. Furthermore, the memo indicates that no additional records related to Epstein will be released.
This news coincided with Netanyahu’s arrival, raises concerns about potential Mossad connections to Epstein that could be embarrassing. Given that Robert Maxwell’s daughter, Ghislaine, had ties to Mossad, it is plausible that many influential people on both sides were linked to Epstein.
It appears that Trump has chosen not to prosecute political criminals, leaving figures like Bondi, Patel, and Bongino in a vulnerable position.
If this assessment is accurate, then Trump may be repeating the mistakes of his first term by giving the deep state an opportunity to regroup and bide their time. Elon’s recent outbursts have not helped and might hurt the Republicans in the midterm elections.
This is Witkoff and “the usual suspects” pushing deals with people the IDF should be allowed to finish destroying. It will end badly any “peace deal” is allowed to happen that doesn’t involve Hamas surrendering.
“would see about half of the living hostages and about half of the dead hostages held by terror groups in Gaza returned to Israel over 60 days, in five separate releases,”
NO. Stop with the bullcarp. Let them all go in the space of 1 week, dead and alive, and Israel can stop the war. Don’t, and everyone in or supporting Hamas is a valid target until all the hostages are found or returned or until Gaza is a barren wilderness. PERIOD.
Hamas gave up their right to “demand” anything after they invaded Israel and slaughtered 1200 innocent men women and children.
No Hamas prisoners with blood on their hands should be released under any circumstances. It would only cost more bloodshed in the future.
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