Hamas Tries to Split Israel, U.S., with Latest Hostage Release Offer

The Palestinian terrorist organization known as Hamas offered Friday to release one living American hostage and the bodies of four dead American hostages while retaining about 55 Israeli hostages, in response to American proposals.

The offer came after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff proposed a second-phase hostage deal that would see half of all the remaining hostages freed at the start of a ceasefire period, and the other half released at the end of the period.

Israel immediately accepted the deal. Hamas did not. The U.S. then began to negotiate with Hamas directly, rather than through Egypt or Qatar, sparking concerns in Israel that Hamas would try to reach a separate deal with the U.S.

Hamas appears to be trying to do exactly that. As Breitbart News reported earlier Friday:

The Hamas terrorist organization said Friday it will release a U.S.-Israeli dual national, believed to be the last living American hostage held in Gaza. The bodies of four dual-nationals who had died in brutal captivity will also be handed over. The decision came after a proposal from mediators to resume negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal, Reuters reports. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office cast doubt on the offer, accusing Hamas of trying to manipulate talks underway in Qatar on the next stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted angrily in a statement released by the Government Press Office (and translated from Hebrew):

While Israel accepted the Witkoff framework, Hamas persists in its refusal and continues to wage psychological warfare against hostage families. The Prime Minister will convene the ministerial team tomorrow evening for a detailed briefing from the negotiating team, and to decide on steps to free the hostages and achieve all our war objectives.

Witkoff also criticized the Hamas offer, according to the Times of Israel:

“Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not. Hamas is well aware of the deadline, and should know that we will respond accordingly if that deadline passes,” the top Trump aide warns. Witkoff makes the revelation in a rare statement, which begins by recalling US President Donald Trump’s recent ultimatum to Hamas to immediately release all hostages “or pay a severe price.” Witkoff reveals that on Wednesday, he and White House National Security Council Mideast director Eric Trager arrived in Doha and presented a “bridge proposal” to extend the current Gaza ceasefire beyond Ramadan and Passover, which ends on April 19.

The second phase of the ceasefire was supposed to take effect on March 2, but no agreement has been reached. Witkoff’s “bridge” proposal would reportedly have seen five living hostages released, en route to a full phase two agreement that would have included the release of all of the remaining hostages and a final end to the war in Gaza.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.