Hamas says ready to hand over Israeli American captive and four bodies

Hamas announced in a statement on Friday that its delegation received a proposal from mediators on Thursday to resume ceasefire negotiations, and the group’s reply “included its agreement to release the Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, who holds American citizenship, along with the remains of four others holding dual citizenship”.

Earlier, Hamas official Husam Badran said the group “is determined to implement the ceasefire agreement in its various stages, and the occupation’s departure from what was agreed will take us back to zero”.

Following the Palestinian group’s statement, Israel accused Hamas of engaging in “psychological warfare”.

“Whereas Israel accepted the Witkoff framework, Hamas remains firm in its refusal and has not budged an inch,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, referring to US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and accusing Hamas of resorting to “manipulation and psychological warfare.”

On Tuesday, a senior Hamas official had announced that a new round of indirect talks through mediators had begun in the Qatari capital Doha. Israel had also sent a team of negotiators.

The first phase of a truce between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip ended on March 1, without agreement on the next stages.

During the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 33 captives, including eight who were deceased, in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, many held in Israeli prisons without charge.

After the truce agreement expired without a new deal, Israel swiftly implemented a total blockade on the besieged Palestinian territory, leaving 2.3 million people on the brink of mass starvation.

Olga Cherevko from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told Al Jazeera that the situation was dire “on multiple levels”.

“The hope that began when the ceasefire started is being replaced with fear, alarm and concern that supplies are running out,” she added.

Cherevko stated food availability “could deteriorate quite rapidly unless the supplies are restored”. Six of the 25 World Food Programme bakeries have been forced to close because there is no fuel to run them.

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, shortages have worsened with 80 percent of residents losing access to food sources because of the closing of land crossings.

Israel had also severed electricity to a crucial water desalination plant, threatening Gaza’s potable water supply.

“The water and sanitation situation was already dire with most of the facilities destroyed during the months of fighting. This latest [Israeli] decision reduces access to drinking water to about 600,000 people,” Cherevko noted.

Despite the ongoing talks over the next phase of the ceasefire, Israel has continued to bombard Gaza, with attacks on Gaza City and Beit Lahiya killing two children.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health announced at least 48,524 people have been killed and 111,955 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and 250 were taken captive.