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Egypt proposes the release of 33 hostages, “the only ones still alive”
«There is an attempt by Cairo to restart talks with an Egyptian proposal that would involve the release of 33 hostages, including women, elderly and sick people». A Jewish state official told the English-language Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Postregarding the Egyptian delegation meeting with Israeli mediators to discuss hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza.
According to the newspaper, Israeli intelligence officials believe that only 33 abductees are still alive, out of a total of 133 still held by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups in the Strip.
In recent weeks, US officials had also told the US newspaper Wall Street Journal that they feared that most of the Israeli hostages in Gaza were dead.
«The Egyptians are really taking matters into their own hands. Egypt wants to see progress, also because it is worried about a possible operation in Rafah”, added the Israeli official to the Jerusalem Post, according to whom Qatar was increasingly excluded from the negotiations after the failure to respond to Israeli requests to expel Hamas leaders from its territory or reduce their finances.
«Qatar is still involved, but to a lesser extent. It is clear to everyone that he did not keep his promises, not even when it came to expelling Hamas or closing their bank accounts,” he said.
