Yesterday, Friday, a senior White House official acknowledged the difficulty of efforts to release prisoners in the Gaza Strip, in light of the ongoing fighting between the Palestinian resistance and Israel.
During a telephone statement to the media, the official stressed the need to reach a “major cessation of the conflict” between the Palestinian resistance and Israel with the aim of releasing the prisoners, whose number the Israeli army estimated at at least 240.
The official – who preferred to remain anonymous – spoke of “very serious discussions” currently taking place, but explained that “there is currently no agreement” on a cessation of hostilities.
The official said that there is “indirect contact” aimed at finding a framework to remove the “hostages” from Gaza, but the matter is very difficult.
He added, “We are optimistic and are doing everything we can to get the hostages out, but there is no guarantee at all that this will happen or when it will happen.”
He pointed out that “no one knows” the exact number of hostages, adding that the number is “far more than 100 and perhaps more than 200,” stressing that the release of this large number of people “will require a fairly significant cessation of hostilities.”
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades – the military arm of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) – began an attack on Israel on October 7, during which it managed to kill 1,400 people and capture more than 240 others.
Many prisoners are still inside the Gaza Strip, which is subjected to Israeli air strikes and ground attacks, in addition to a siege imposed by the Israeli army on it. To date, this aggression has led to the death of more than 9,227, in addition to 23,000 injured, and more than 2,000 missing.
Al-Qassam released a number of its prisoners for humanitarian reasons and with Qatari mediation, and expressed its readiness to release civilians holding foreign passports when war conditions permit.
On the other hand, the American official confirmed that Washington is conducting an “ongoing dialogue” with the Israeli leadership and asking it what he described as “difficult questions” regarding the method of choosing military targets in Gaza and the results of these choices.
He stressed that the Israelis “largely revised their initial plan” in light of this dialogue, as he put it, without going into details.
Israel is facing mounting criticism and accusations of committing crimes against humanity and dozens of massacres during the war it is waging on the Gaza Strip for the 29th day.
