Hamas, the Palestinian radical movement, has reportedly informed the families of hostages captured during the attack on October 7th that the Israeli government has rejected a prisoner exchange. This information was reported by Ynet, an online publication.
The source of the information, through which Hamas representatives contacted the hostages’ families, was not specified by the online publication. According to various sources, approximately 150 Israelis may be held captive by Hamas. The movement itself has claimed that there are around 200-250 prisoners in the Gaza Strip.
Yedioth Ahronoth (Ynetnews), an Israeli newspaper, previously reported that discussions were taking place in Israel regarding the possibility of freeing the hostages from Hamas captivity, which would allow the movement’s leaders and members to leave the Gaza Strip.
On October 30th, Hamas announced their readiness to engage in a prisoner exchange with Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously stated that Jerusalem would not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas. According to him, calls for a ceasefire would mean that Israel is surrendering to Hamas.
Earlier, Hamas stated that they would release foreign hostages “when circumstances allow.”
