Hamas tells groups to identify hostages they hold

Hamas prepares information on hostages for a potential ceasefire and release deal with Israel.

GAZA STRIP:

Sources within Palestinian groups in Gaza said Sunday that Hamas had told them to compile information on the hostages they hold in preparation for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Israel.

Hamas told factions including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front and the Popular Resistance Committees to prepare information such as whether their hostages were alive or dead, the sources told AFP.

During Hamas's surprise October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the militant group and its allies took 251 people captive.

A total of 96 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.

A one-week truce in November 2023 saw dozens of hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, but since then negotiations have failed to make a breakthrough.

Qatar's prime minister said on Saturday there was renewed "momentum" for a ceasefire and hostage release deal following the election of Donald Trump in the United States.

A Hamas source told AFP there had been "intensified contacts" recently between Hamas and Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish mediators, and that the group expected a new round of talks in Cairo "will begin in the coming days".

The same source called on Israel to halt the war, saying the presence of its forces made it "difficult to reach all the captive groups to know the details of the living and dead prisoners".

Meanwhile, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that at least 44,708 people have been killed in 14 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

The toll includes 44 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 106,050 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began.