Hamas accepts deal to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander and bodies of four dual-nationals
by Danielle de Wolfe · LBCBy Danielle de Wolfe
Hamas said it has accepted a proposal from mediators to release one living American-Israeli hostage and the bodies of four dual-national hostages who died in captivity.
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The militant group did not immediately specify when the release of the dual-national soldier and the four bodies would occur.
According to reports, other countries party to the agreement did not immediately confirm the Hamas statement.
Mr Alexander was 19 when he was taken from his base on the border with Gaza in southern Israel during the Hamas attack on October 7 2023 that sparked the war.
The statement comes as talks continue in Doha to try to broker the next stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the first phase of which ended two weeks ago.
It was not clear which parties had participated in negotiating the deal.
The United States, led by the Trump administration's hostage envoy Steve Witkoff, has been pushing for a proposal that would extend the truce and see a limited number of hostage for prisoner exchanges.
The White House last week made a surprise announcement, saying that American officials had engaged in "ongoing talks and discussions" with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held US policy of not directly engaging with the militant group.
That prompted a terse response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
It was not immediately clear whether those talks were at all linked to Hamas's Friday announcement about the release of the American hostage.
In a separate statement, Hamas official Husam Badran reaffirmed what he said was Hamas's commitment to fully implementing the ceasefire agreement in all its phases, warning that any Israeli deviation from the terms would return negotiations to square one.
Israel is pressing the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire.
Hamas wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire's more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace.
It comes days after Israel halted its electricity supply to Gaza, which Palestinians rely on for their water supply, a week after blocking all humanitarian aid from entering the Strip.
Gaza has received very little electricity for a decade due to Israel's long-term blockade, but desalination plants in the territory still receive power for drinking water.