High-ranking Hamas official signals readiness for prisoner swap
In a press conference in Cape Town, Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official and former Health Minister in the Gaza Strip, declared on Wednesday that the Palestinian Islamist movement is prepared to release all Israeli soldiers it holds in exchange for all Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, as reported by Hotnews.ro.
"We are prepared to release all soldiers in exchange for all our prisoners," stated Naim during the press conference.
Naim added that Hamas is engaged in "challenging negotiations" to extend the current ceasefire, which is set to end in principle on Thursday. "We are trying, along with the mediators, including Qatar, to negotiate a permanent truce," he said.
The current ceasefire began on Friday for four days, before being extended for an additional two days. Parties are in discussions with mediators, led by Qatar, aiming to prevent a resumption of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian situation is dire.
Since then, 74 hostages and individuals with dual citizenship have been released, including women and children, in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, including women and men under 19 years old.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
