The White House calls on Hamas to take a “step” that will make progress in the negotiations over the prisoners

A US administration official confirmed that the prisoner release initiative proposed by Hamas meets almost all requirements, indicating that the movement must release the vulnerable group of hostages in order for negotiations to advance.

The American official told reporters: “It (the agreement) meets almost all the requirements,what Hamas is offering, and what it must do is release the vulnerable group of hostages in order to move the situation forward.”

The British newspaper "Daily Mail" reported in a report last Sunday that fears are growing in Israel that only about 40 of the 133 hostages remaining in the hands of Hamas since October 7 are still alive.

It is noteworthy that so far, 112 hostages have been returned to Israel , in a prisoner exchange deal, followed by the continuation of fighting for the sixth month in a row, with expectations of an imminent attack on Rafah, the last stronghold of Hamas, amid warnings issued by Egypt, the United States, and some Western countries, given that the city is at the same time a refuge. The latter for Palestinian civilians.

The negotiations regarding the release of the hostages are witnessing difficulties that hinder reaching an agreement, with a clear discrepancy in the Israeli demands on the one hand, and those put forward by "Hamas", which is concerned with the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and stopping the fighting before proceeding with the release of the hostages, which Israel rejects.