Hamas hostages

Israeli minister calls for an end to negotiations

Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir(Bild: APA/AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI)

While Egyptian television is reporting "considerable progress" in the negotiations on the release of the hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip, Israel's Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is calling for an end to the talks.

According to the newspaper "Haaretz", the far-right politician said at a meeting of his party on Monday that his party considers it necessary to order the end of the talks, which are also about a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war. Instead, it was necessary to move on to "a new phase of intense fighting", the newspaper quoted Ben-Gvir, who is also Minister for National Security, as saying.

Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir(Bild: APA/AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI)

Hamas: "Hostages are in different areas"
On Monday, representatives from the mediating states USA, Qatar and Egypt met with the Islamist Hamas for the second day of talks in Cairo. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding that the terrorist organization submit a list of the names of the hostages still alive. Due to the Israeli attacks, the Islamists could not say which of the hostages kidnapped from Israel were still alive, a high-ranking Hamas member told the British broadcaster BBC on Sunday. "They are in different areas with different groups," he said.

There is apparently also another problem. As the US newspaper "Wall Street Journal" reported on Sunday, representatives from Qatar and Egypt have had no contact with Hamas leader Jihia al-Sinwar for at least a week. However, the latter would have to agree to a deal between Israel and the terrorist militia.