Hamas Retreats in Hostage Negotiations As IDF Seizes Key Intel Center

 HotAir

The very fact that Hamas fought to defend this position for weeks even while abandoning other parts of northern Gaza speaks to the value of this victory. The battle exposed an elaborate tunnel system connected to at least one mosque and one school, as well as the Rantisi Hospital.

"Well, well, well. Hamas had insisted in recent days that it would release no hostages until the IDF withdrew from Gaza, a position that left the Israeli government in firm position to reject. After more losses on the battlefield, however, Hamas has had second thoughts.

"Now they want a day of cease-fire for every hostage released, but without an IDF withdrawal. And the Israelis say …

Hamas negotiators have waived the condition of a final ceasefire and the withdrawal of IDF soldiers from Gaza in their ongoing talks with Israel for a second hostage release, according to a report by the Arab World News Agency (AWP), citing sources in Hamas.

“The five-way talks between Egypt, Qatar, the United States, Israel, and Hamas are ongoing, but so far no agreement has been reached,” the source told AWP, adding that talks have “accelerated significantly in recent hours,” with “Cairo and Doha making persistent efforts.”

The terrorist group is now open to the release of 40 hostages in exchange for 120 prisoners held by Israel, the report said, adding that Hamas had demanded a one-day ceasefire in exchange for each hostage released, but Israel refused.

"That suggestion is absurd on its face, but the direction of concessions is certainly notable. Hamas still wants to wring strategic value from the hostages that remain in their hands, but Israel clearly wants to disincentivize future hostage taking by reducing that strategic leverage. They are still negotiating on a disproportional 1:3 basis, according to reports at the Jerusalem Post and other Israeli media, but even that’s limited to inmates arrested over less-serious charges. And even the 1:3 ratio is another retreat by Hamas, which had demanded thousands of prisoners exchanged for an estimated 133 hostages captured on October 7.

"The change in direction comes as no surprise. First off, Hamas has a history of attempting to game negotiations by making outrageous demands, followed by a fallback to somewhat less-outrageous terms. But in this case, Hamas has suffered real and significant losses in the last few days that threaten to undermine their already-tottering regime in Gaza. The IDF killed one of their top commanders of the October 7 massacre, they announced yesterday, among other notable advances: . . ."

“The results will be clear results,” Gallant vows. “We will end this campaign when Hamas does not function as a governing body and certainly not as a military framework… It will take time,” he says.

Time that the cowardly Democrats in the US will allow?