It will be more difficult to negotiate the release of other groups detained in the Gaza Strip after the anticipated release of the women and children held captive by Hamas, according to sources.
The first priority for release has been women and children. If that is achieved, what will remain are men, Israeli soldiers, and the bodies of those slain, either as those who were murdered after October 7 or as those whose bodies were carried into Gaza on that date.
There are reportedly 236 prisoners being held captive in Gaza. There are fifty Israeli women and children anticipated to be released in the first phase; some of them are also of other nationalities than Israeli.
According to a source with knowledge of the negotiations, males who are elderly were considered by US and Israeli authorities to be the simplest group to evacuate from Gaza, after foreign nationals.
The insider said that it was thought to be most difficult to negotiate out of Gaza for both male and female soldiers. The sides would also have to cooperate in order to get the bodies of the people who were killed, which are reportedly being held by Hamas.
According to the source, negotiations for those categories have not yet begun in earnest.
Another source acquainted with the discussions acknowledged that the other captives are on a different track and have not been included in the immediate conversations due to the complexities of their situation.
The source further mentioned that the fact that many of the people who would stay are not under Hamas’ control but rather are in the care of other organisations and people complicates their situation.
Hostage Israeli troops might offer Hamas significant bargaining power. After years of discussions, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was swapped for over 1,000 Palestinian detainees in 2011.
The majority of Israelis become reservists after serving in the country’s mandatory military service for both men and women. A person acquainted with the negotiations claims that Hamas originally intended to classify the women hostages under 45 as soldiers as well.
Israel declined, but according to a second person with knowledge of the talks, both parties ultimately decided that only the women who were wearing uniforms at the time of their kidnapping would be regarded as soldiers.
According to a person acquainted with the conversations, in addition to Israelis, there are kidnapped nationals from other nations like Thailand and Nepal whose nations have been in contact with Qatar since Qatari mediators have been a major point of contact with Hamas.
The Israeli military made public security footage from the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, claiming it captured Hamas terrorists transporting two hostages—one from Thailand and the other from Nepal—to the hospital, with one of them bleeding on a stretcher.
