Deputy Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, Mohammad al-Hindi, announced on Thursday that Palestinian factions are nearing a ceasefire agreement with Israel.
“We are close to finalizing an agreement, even if it’s partial, involving a prisoner exchange with the [Israeli] occupation and a ceasefire,” al-Hindi shared with Xinhua.
He detailed that Palestinian factions would need approximately a week to compile a list of Israeli hostages to be submitted in the first phase of the agreement’s implementation. During this stage, Israel has requested a list of hostages, including 12 soldiers not originally slated for release in the initial phase.
“Hamas has displayed flexibility by agreeing to include these soldiers in the first-stage release list, though conditions have been set in exchange for these concessions,” al-Hindi explained.
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He accused the Israeli side of attempting to “obstruct” the negotiations with what he described as unreasonable demands but emphasized that “the resistance is striving to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza through these talks.”
Currently, intense negotiations are underway between Hamas and mediators to finalize both the ceasefire and the prisoner exchange deal. This comes amidst ongoing Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
The conflict escalated on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a large-scale attack on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people. Israel retaliated with a major air and ground offensive on Gaza, leading to over 45,500 reported Palestinian fatalities.
