Hamas says it will only release American-Israeli hostage if ceasefire deal is implemented

CAIRO — Hamas said Saturday it will only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements their ceasefire agreement, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed nine people in Gaza, medics and a watchdog said.

A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire’s second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel also would need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt. Israel has said it won’t withdraw there, citing the need to combat weapons smuggling.

Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.

Edan Alexander, 21, who grew up in New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that ignited the war. He is the last living U.S. citizen held in Gaza. Hamas still has 59 hostages, 35 believed to be dead.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, where government offices were closed for the Sabbath.

Speaking at a protest camp set up last week outside Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, relatives of hostages said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “violating the agreement he signed and abandoning the hostages in Gaza.”

“You want to sacrifice our children for the pleasures of power,” said Itzik Horn, father of hostage Eitan and freed hostage Iair.

Meanwhile, two Israeli airstrikes in the northern town of Beit Lahiya near the border killed at least nine people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

No major fighting has occurred in Gaza since the ceasefire took hold on Jan. 19.

The United States said it presented on Wednesday a proposal to extend the ceasefire a few weeks as the sides negotiate a permanent truce. It said Hamas was claiming flexibility in public while privately making “entirely impractical” demands.

Talks continued in Egypt, which along with Qatar has served as mediators with Hamas in the indirect talks with Israel.

Israel and Hamas were to begin negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase in early February, but only preparatory talks have been held. In Phase Two, Hamas would release all remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting truce.

The first phase saw the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces pulled back to a buffer zone along Gaza’s border and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.

After the first phase ended early this month, Israel said it had agreed to a new U.S. proposal in which Hamas would release half the remaining hostages in return for a vague commitment to negotiate a lasting ceasefire. Hamas rejected that offer.