Hamas, Israel signal possible expansion of hostage-deal criteria
Hamas said it had sought a new truce deal with Israel under which the group would release hostages beyond the women and children it has already released from the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.
The remarks by Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya late on Monday came as Israel expanded the roster of Palestinian detainees it could release in exchange for hostages — another signal that a revision of truce terms was being considered.
“We hope the Occupation (Israel) abides (by the agreement) in the next two days because we are seeking a new agreement, besides women and children, whereby other categories that we have that we can swap,” Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera.
That, he said, would entail “going towards an additional time period to continue swapping people at this stage”.