Israel's Netanyahu says prisoner swap deal could be finalized within ‘days or hours’

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that a prisoner swap deal with the Palestinian group Hamas could be finalized in a matter of “days or hours.”

His remarks were reported by Israeli outlets including Channel 12 and Yedioth Ahronoth.

Speaking during a meeting with families of Israeli captives being held in Gaza, Netanyahu said he is “ready for a prolonged cease-fire on condition that all the abductees are returned.”

“It is a matter of days or hours. We are waiting for Hamas's response, and then we can start immediately,” he added.

Netanyahu, who has rejected previous proposals, reiterated that progress depends on Hamas's response.

“Hamas has not yet responded. Everything circulating in the field is mere speculation. Once (US) President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, the rules of the game will change dramatically,” he added.

Netanyahu also preemptively issued a warning, saying that “any violation of the cease-fire will be met with a severe and strong response -- one involving a type of warfare we have not seen before.”

According to Channel 12, he was scheduled to hold urgent security consultations later Tuesday to discuss the pending deal.

Reports suggest that significant progress in the negotiations came after intense pressure from US envoy Brett McGurk during a “tense meeting” with Netanyahu on Saturday, as detailed by The Times of Israel on Monday.

Earlier, Hamas said that a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement is in “its final stages.”

Qatar said that Gaza cease-fire negotiations are in their “final details” and that announcing an agreement is “imminent.”

Israel currently holds more than 10,300 Palestinian prisoners, while it is estimated that 98 Israelis are detained in Gaza.

Hamas said that many Israeli captives have been killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.

The prisoner swap and cease-fire talks, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US, have been interrupted several times due to new conditions imposed by Netanyahu.

The Israeli opposition and families of captives accuse him of obstructing efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

Israel has continued its war on Gaza, which has killed more than 46,600 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio