According to Hamas, a ceasefire is necessary to find the hostages

The kidnappers are located in different places in the besieged Gaza Strip and in the hands of different groups. Some were said to be lying “under the rubble” with the dead Palestinians. The Hamas official said, “We are negotiating to obtain heavy equipment for this purpose.”

Naeem was responding to questions from media representatives about whether Hamas had rejected the latest settlement proposal presented by the United States because it was unable to release 40 hostages in the first phase of a three-stage agreement. According to media reports, the first phase includes the release of women, soldiers, men over the age of 50, and men under the age of 50 who suffer from serious medical problems. But Hamas stated in the recent negotiations that it does not have 40 hostages alive from these categories. This raised fears that many more hostages may have been killed than was known. Israel had previously assumed that just under 100 of about 130 hostages were still alive in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Media reports stated that CIA Director William Burns presented the American settlement proposal on Sunday evening during the negotiations that took place in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The proposal calls for Hamas to release 40 hostages held in exchange for 900 Palestinian prisoners during the six-week ceasefire – including 100 who were sentenced to life imprisonment for killing Israelis. She added that Israel, in turn, should allow up to 150,000 displaced Palestinians to return to the northern coastal region.

Hamas insists on a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the disputed coastal region. The Israeli government keeps the door open to the possibility of continuing fighting after the ceasefire. Since Israel and Hamas do not talk to each other directly, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt act as mediators.