29 April,2024 04:58 PM IST | Cairo | mid-day online correspondent
Representational image. Pic/iStock
A Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo for talks on a possible cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement with Israel. The three-member committee travelled from Doha to investigate the most recent plan, which includes releasing hostages in return for Palestinian detainees detained by Israel.
According to sources, the deal involves releasing 33 hostages in return for several hundred Palestinian detainees, including women, the elderly, and the injured. Hamas demands the release of 50 detainees for every soldier and 30 for every civilian, the IANS report stated.
According to the report, under the proposed accord, Israel would withdraw from a crucial road that separates the Gaza Strip into two parts, allowing residents of the northern sector to return. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces issues within his administration, with the far-right coalition partners threatening to withdraw support if the deal proceeds.
During the war, the vast majority of Gaza's nearly 2.2 million inhabitants evacuated to the south, the report added.
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However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have to choose between a hostage deal and the survival of his government, the IANS report added.
Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, vowed to dissolve the cabinet on Sunday if the current hostage situation was resolved and a military operation in Rafah was halted.
Netanyahu's political survival relies on his far-right coalition partners.
With IANS inputs
