Hamas Agrees to Release Last Living American Captive and Bodies of Four Other Dual Nationals
Gaza (Quds News Network)- Hamas said on Friday it has accepted a proposal from mediators to release the last living American-Israeli captive and the bodies of four dual-national captives.
Hamas did not specify when the release of soldier Edan Alexander and the four bodies of the American-Israeli captives would occur.
In a statement on Friday, Hamas said its delegation received a proposal from the mediators to resume negotiations.
“The movement responded to this proposal with responsibility and a positive approach and responded on Friday. The response includes agreeing to release the Israeli soldier, Aidan Alexander, who holds American citizenship, as well as the remains of four others with dual nationality.”
“Hamas affirms its full readiness to begin negotiations and reach a comprehensive agreement on the issues of the second phase. and we call for pressing Israel to implement its commitments,” it added.
The statement comes as talks continue in Doha to try to broker the next stage of the ceasefire agreement, the first phase of which ended two weeks ago.
In a separate statement, Hamas official Husam Badran reaffirmed what he said was Hamas’ commitment to fully implementing the ceasefire agreement in all its phases, warning that any Israeli deviation from the terms would return negotiations to square one.
Israel wants an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire. Hamas wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase, which would see the release of remaining captives from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and ending the war.
