Hamas calls for the release of some 1,950 Palestinian prisoners for the Gaza truce agreement

Jerusalem.- The Islamist group Hamas is calling for the release of some 1,950 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, said the press advisor to the political bureau of the organization, Taher Al Nono, early this Thursday. “The agreed number is 250 prisoners with life sentences and 1,700 prisoners from Gaza”, Al Nono assured in a text message exchange.

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The Islamist group’s statements come at a critical moment in the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, which are taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh, under the mediation of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt. Tonight, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a letter to President Donald Trump, warning that the parties were “very close” to reaching an agreement and it was necessary for the magnate to approve a post on his social network, Truth Social, to announce the peace pact in the Strip. “The secretary just handed me a note saying that we are very close to reaching an agreement in the Middle East and that they will need me very soon,” Trump assured the press, according to the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Islamists are based on the proposal of a 20-point ceasefire agreement, presented by Trump on September 29th and then approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In recent days, indirect conversations between Hamas and Israel have focused on negotiating points of the agreement such as the map and schedule for the withdrawal of Israeli troops, as well as the mechanisms for implementing the truce or the release of the captives. Hamas and other Gazan militias are holding 48 hostages in the enclave, of whom about 20 are still alive, according to Israeli authorities.