Israel says 20-year-old Edan Alexander is one of 24 hostages still held captive in Gaza
DW | Published March 15, 2025
The US has accused Hamas of privately making “impractical” demands while publicly backing a plan to extend the Gaza ceasefire. Washington wants the release of a US-Israel citizen and the bodies of four other hostages.
The United States government on Friday put pressure on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to immediately release several hostages from Gaza or “pay a severe price.”
The warning came in a written statement from the National Security Council and the office of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
It follows fresh talks in Qatar where US officials presented a “bridge” proposal to extend the Gaza ceasefire until mid-April to allow time to negotiate a permanent end to the conflict.
Friday’s statement also restated the call on Israel to allow aid deliveries to Gaza again and release several Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of an American-Israeli dual national and the bodies of several other hostages.
Hamas accused of muddying waters
Hamas said Friday it was ready to free the hostage and the remains of four others.
A statement from the Islamist movement said it had agreed to “release the Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, who holds American citizenship, along with the remains of four others holding dual citizenship.”
The US statement, however, said Hamas was publicly claiming to support the extension, “while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire.”
The statement added that if Hamas fails to meet all the demands in time, the United States “will respond accordingly,” without elaborating.
Israel plays down Hamas’ promise
Israel, meanwhile, played down the chance of the hostage deal, accusing Hamas of waging “psychological warfare” on the families of the abductees.
The first phase of the Israel-Hamas truce ran out on March 1 without agreement on the next steps.
Fresh talks began in Doha, with Israel and Hamas both sending negotiators to work on a plan to extend the ceasefire.
During the first six weeks of the truce, Palestinian militants released 33 hostages, including eight dead bodies, in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.
Israel says Hamas is still holding 24 hostages, as well as 35 bodies of abductees.
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SOURCE: www.dw.com
RELATED: Hamas says it will only release American-Israeli hostage if truce agreement is implemented
Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
DAILY MAIL ONLINE | Published March 15, 2025
CAIRO (AP) – Hamas said Saturday it will only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements the existing ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track.
A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire’s second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel would also need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.
Edan Alexander, 21, who grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during Hamas´ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war, and is the last living American citizen held in Gaza.
In a separate development, two Israeli airstrikes in the northern town of Beit Lahiya near the border killed at least eight people, including a local reporter who was operating a drone, according to Palestinian medics.
The Indonesian Hospital confirmed receiving the bodies, and Fares Awad, head of emergency services in northern Gaza, identified one of the dead as local reporter Mahmoud Islim. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi
There was no immediate comment from Israel, where government offices were closed for the weekly Sabbath. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu´s office on Friday accused Hamas of “manipulation and psychological warfare” when the offer was initially made, before Hamas spelled out the conditions.
The United States said it presented on Wednesday a proposal to extend the ceasefire a few more weeks as the sides negotiate a permanent truce. It said Hamas was claiming flexibility in public while privately making “entirely impractical” demands.
Negotiations continued in Egypt after senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Friday. Egypt and Qatar served as key mediators with Hamas in reaching the ceasefire and have continued to host talks aimed at getting it back on track.
There was no immediate comment from the mediators.
Under the ceasefire agreement reached in January, Israel and Hamas were to begin negotiations over a second phase – in which Hamas would release all the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting truce – in early February, but so far only preparatory talks have been held.
After the first phase ended at the beginning of this month, Israel said it had agreed to a new U.S. proposal in which Hamas would release half the remaining hostages in return for a vague commitment to negotiate a lasting ceasefire. Hamas rejected that offer, accusing Israel of backtracking on the signed agreement and trying to sabotage the truce.
Israel has barred the delivery of food, fuel and other supplies to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians, and cut electricity to the territory, to pressure Hamas to accept the new proposal.
The city of Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border, said it could no longer provide fuel needed to pump water from dozens of wells across the city.
Ahmed al-Sufi, head of the Rafah municipality, said fuel shortages caused by the Israeli siege have forced the municipality to “suspend essential services, threatening the lives of thousands and exacerbating the health and environmental crisis.”
The first phase of the truce, which took hold on Jan. 19, saw the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces pulled back to a buffer zone along Gaza’s border and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.
An Israeli official said last month that Israel will not withdraw from the so-called Philadelphi corridor, along the Gaza-Egypt border, as called for in the ceasefire agreement. They have cited the need to combat weapons smuggling.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. The group is still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were freed in ceasefire agreements.
Israel’s military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced most of the population and left nearly everyone dependent on international aid to survive.
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