Gideon Saar‚ Israelʼs foreign minister shows rare positivity about hostage talks progress: Hamas asked other Gaza groups to make lists of their captives (both alive n deceased)
The situation changed after 12-09-24 meeting where Benjamin Netanyahu told hostage families its time for a deal. A mid-east negotiator (who asked to stay unnamed) said US-backed mediators increased their work with both sides
We can be more optimistic than before but we are not there yet
About 100 people remain in Gaza since that oct-7 attack. The numbers tell a hard story:
- 1‚200 died in Hamas raid
- Over 250 taken as hostages
- 44‚700 Palestinians lost lives in response attacks
Its important to note that any stop in fighting depends on hostages return. Recent military actions hit different parts of Gaza - at least 4 people died near Jabalia camp while 11 lost lives in Rafah area. In Al-Maghazi some tanks moved into east parts making people leave homes
In northern Gaza strip an air-strike took 6 lives‚ while Al-Maghazi faced another hit that killed 4 kids (ages 4-13). Israeli forces havent made any comments about these monday strikes
The talks show new hope as Saar pointed out that Hamas position might have changed in recent times: “if both sides want agreement theres better chance to get it“