Israel agrees to prisoner and hostage swap and awaits Hamas response, CNN affiliate and analyst say
(CNN) — Israel accepted a US proposal for a prisoner-for-hostage exchange that would release nearly 700 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 serving life sentences for killing Israeli civilians, in exchange for the release of 40 Israeli hostages, Kan News reported on Sunday. CNN affiliate, citing a senior Israeli official.
Earlier this week, CNN analyst Barak Ravid tweeted, citing an unnamed Israeli official, that Israel had accepted a “bridge proposal” from the United States on the number of Palestinian prisoners that would be released for each hostage held by Hamas.
Israel accepted the proposal presented by CIA Director Bill Burns, according to Ravid. Burns was in Doha, Qatar, where Hamas and Israel are holding mediated talks.
A response from Hamas could take one to three days, according to Ravid, who said he had spoken with Israeli officials.
“Those details have to go from the Hamas representatives in Doha, who are negotiating, to the person who actually makes the decisions, and this is the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, who is in a bunker about 30 meters below the ground, so this takes a long time. ,” Ravid told Omar Jimenez on “CNN Newsroom” on Sunday.
Ravid suggested that the proposed exchange would “certainly include some” American hostages, as it would free men over the age of 50.
A diplomatic source briefed on the matter confirmed the accuracy of Ravid’s information to CNN, but said there were still outstanding issues, including aid flows to Gaza and “Israeli military deployments.”
CNN reached out to Israeli and Hamas officials about the status of the talks.
A recent Hamas proposal this month called for the release of between 700 and 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel called the demands “ridiculous” and “absurd” at the time.
According to the official, Israel is ready to make “significant commitments to return the abductees home,” Kan News reported.
A deal, if finalized, is expected to have multiple phases. In the first phase, Hamas proposed to release the hostages, who are women – including Israeli soldiers – the elderly, the sick and the injured. About 40 of those 100 hostages are believed to be still alive.
Mossad director David Barney visited Doha twice this week for talks with a high-level Israeli security delegation.
This article has been updated.
