\nA Hamas delegation, led by Khalil al-Hayya, has completed intensive discussions in Cairo with the Egyptian intelligence team. During the talks, a list of Israeli hostages\u2014including the sick, elderly, women, and men\u2014was presented, whom Hamas is prepared to release in the first phase. Additionally, Hamas outlined demands for the release of Palestinian prisoners. An Egyptian official noted that an Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Cairo in the coming days, where the lists will be exchanged to advance negotiations. <\/p>\n
Gallant: “A Real Opportunity for a Breakthrough in Returning the Hostages” <\/strong> International Diplomacy in Efforts Toward an Agreement<\/strong> Kirby also addressed Assad\u2019s regime collapse and its potential positive impact on advancing the agreement: “Hamas is now looking at the world and realizing that no reinforcements will come to save them. So we hope that the latest developments in Syria strengthen the sense that they are completely isolated and that they need to take the deal.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hamas is reportedly softening its rigid stance regarding a hostage deal, and according to a diplomatic source, an agreement could be reached shortly. | Gallant met with Biden’s envoy at the White House: “The coming days will be critical.” | The White House has yet to issue a statement, saying: “We’re working on this very hard.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":11506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1477,1482,1475,1480,1513],"class_list":["post-11505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","tag-hamas","tag-hostages","tag-idf","tag-israel","tag-netanyahu"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nFormer Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met today at the White House with President Biden\u2019s Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk, and expressed optimism regarding progress in negotiations to secure the hostages\u2019 return. “There is a real opportunity for a breakthrough on this issue,” Gallant stated. He also stressed that “the coming days will be critical for this mission.” Gallant linked the progress in negotiations to Israel\u2019s operational successes in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, which have weakened the Shiite axis to the point of Assad’s regime’s collapse, solidifying Israel’s regional standing. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Gec1ZfwXIAcwUap-1229x1536-1.jpeg\")
\nU.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet again with hostage families in Israel. “We\u2019re not on the verge of signing an agreement, but we are working very hard on it,” Kirby said. He added that the U.S. is applying pressure on Hamas to advance the deal and bring the hostages home. <\/p>\n