The latest written response from Hamas in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations states that the group intends to offer Israel the bodies of dead hostages, in addition to hostages still alive, during the first phase of the truce, according to Hamas sources. CNN familiar with the negotiations.
The latest framework suggested by Hamas says Israel would recover 33 hostages during the first lull in fighting.
However, if Hamas is unable to locate 33 live hostages, “the number of this category will be completed from the corpses,” according to a Hamas document obtained by CNN .
The offer quickly met with opposition from Israel and could emerge as a point of contention in the ongoing negotiations.
A US official said it was the first time Hamas had explicitly proposed this scenario, but the idea of sending corpses had already been suggested in discussions. Israel has repeatedly rejected including the bodies of dead hostages as part of the first phase of hostage release, which is intended to include the most vulnerable people: women, children, the elderly and the sick.
A second person familiar with the negotiations said Israeli authorities have believed for some time that there are no 33 living hostages in this vulnerable category.
An Israeli source told CNN that Israel will not agree to include dead bodies in the first category of hostages to be returned, as this would amount to “giving license to kill” the remaining live hostages.
Source: CNN Brasil
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