Said Amori
16 March 2025•Update: 16 March 2025
JERUSALEM
Israeli negotiators are in Cairo for discussions with Egyptian officials regarding the release of hostages held in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday.
“The negotiating team is now meeting in Egypt with senior Egyptian officials to discuss the issue of the hostages,” a statement said.
There was no immediate comment from Egyptian authorities.
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner-hostage exchange agreement, beginning on Jan. 19, concluded early March, but Israel has so far refused to proceed with the second phase.
Israel has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and left the enclave in ruins.
Netanyahu’s office late Saturday said he instructed the negotiating team to prepare for talks based on the mediators’ response to US envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal "for the immediate release of 11 living hostages and half of the deceased hostages."
However, Israeli Channel 12 and other Israeli media outlets reported a different version of the proposal. According to their sources, Witkoff’s plan includes the release of five living captives—including Israeli-American soldier Aidan Alexander—and the bodies of 10 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a halt in military operations lasting between 42 and 50 days, during which negotiations would continue on ending the war permanently.
Hamas on Friday said it accepted a mediator-backed proposal to release the Israeli-American soldier and the bodies of four dual-national captives.
