Netanyahu asked that soldiers be added to list of released hostages in first stage of deal

"Hamas is making a false claim that Israel has added new conditions to the negotiations to avoid implementing the deal," a diplomatic source later noted

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF JANUARY 15, 2025 10:45 Updated: JANUARY 15, 2025 10:58

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen with hostage posters (illustrative) (photo credit: Canva, FLASH90, POOL, SHUTTERSTOCK)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that soldiers be added to the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first stage of a hostage deal, a Palestinian source told the London-based Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Wednesday.

According to the report, the source qualified this attempt as an attempt to "rig the agreement and obstruct it."

The source further claimed that the announcement that the hostage deal had been achieved was being delayed until an accord could be obtained regarding the mechanisms for implementing it.

"In recent hours, Arab media reports that Hamas claims Israel is raising new demands and refusing to uphold agreements that have already been reached," a diplomatic source said with regard to the reports. "Hamas is making a false claim that Israel has added new conditions to the negotiations in order to avoid implementing the deal," the source added.

Chairs with cutouts of the pictures of the eyes of the hostages in Tel Aviv. January 14, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/KAI PFAFFENBACH)

Disagreement on final wording

On Tuesday, a source familiar with the subject told The Jerusalem Post that while the deal was in its final stages, the announcement was delayed earlier in the day due to disagreement on the final wording. 

One of the main points holding up the approval on Hamas’s end regards the maps describing the IDF’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in the framework of a deal.

Amichai Stein contributed to this report.