Mon Jan 06 01:56:12 UTC 2025: ## Hamas Offers to Release 34 Hostages in Potential Deal with Israel

**Jerusalem/Gaza City, January 6, 2025** – Amidst ongoing conflict, Hamas announced its willingness to release 34 Israeli hostages as a first step towards a potential prisoner exchange deal with Israel. The announcement follows renewed indirect talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, taking place just days before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration.

The offer, made by a Hamas official speaking on condition of anonymity, stipulates that the initial release would include all women, children, the elderly, and sick captives. However, Hamas requested a week of calm to verify the condition of the hostages. The group stated it would release the 34 prisoners regardless of whether they are alive or dead.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the Hamas statement but emphasized that Hamas has yet to provide a list of hostages for release. This development follows a one-week truce in November 2023 which resulted in the release of 80 Israeli and 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Simultaneously, Israel intensified its assault on the Gaza Strip, launching airstrikes that killed at least 88 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Israeli military claimed it targeted over 100 militant sites over the past two days. These actions come nearly 15 months after the start of the current conflict, which began with a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,208 Israelis, mostly civilians. Israel’s response has reportedly killed 45,805 Palestinians in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to the UN.

The renewed violence casts a shadow over the ongoing negotiations. While Qatar expressed optimism following Trump’s election, both sides have accused each other of obstructing the process. The situation remains highly volatile as the warring factions continue to engage in both diplomatic and military action. In a separate incident, Israeli forces killed a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank.

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