The Lebanon-based Hamas official Osama Hamdan said in an interview with CNN that "no one has any idea" how many of the remaining 116 hostages captured on 7 October last year were still alive, amid Israeli estimates that at least a third had died in captivity or were killed when seized.
Yesterday Hamas's Qassam Brigades said on their Telegram channel that two more Israeli hostages had been killed in an Israeli airstrike, a claim that could not be confirmed.
Reiterating Hamas's position on the US-supported ceasefire proposal, now backed by a UN security council resolution, Hamdan said the group needed "a clear position from Israel to accept the ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and let the Palestinians determine their future by themselves".
He also referred to the need for reconstruction and the end of the years-long Israeli blockade of Gaza. "[Then] we are ready to talk about a fair deal about the prisoners exchange," he said.
Hamdan's comments are the clearest public signalling of Hamas's position, which has remained largely unchanged in recent negotiations: that its agreement is conditional on Israel agreeing to end the conflict and withdraw its troops from Gaza.
Denne historien er fra June 15, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra June 15, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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