United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a visit to Egypt on Monday that Hamas is the “only outlier” in ceasefire negotiations. He said the Palestinian group has shown “extraordinary cynicism” and urged regional leaders to “press” Hamas to accept the terms of the ceasefire deal. Blinken continued to insist that the “best way” to free the hostages held by Hamas and limit the number of civilian casualties is to agree to the proposed terms. He added that Egyptian negotiators spoke with representatives of Hamas “as recently as a few hours ago” but there has still been no breakthrough.
Hamas to kill hostages if ‘they think’ Israeli forces coming
Hamas leaders have ordered their fighters, who are holding hostages, to shoot the captives if they believe Israeli forces are approaching, The New York Times reported on Monday, citing Israeli officials. The report also mentions that a small group of hostages is believed to be being held near Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, as a way to use the hostages as human shields, making it more difficult for Israel to target Sinwar. The article further notes that Hamas is expected to relocate more hostages into tunnels following the recent rescue operation conducted by the IDF on Saturday.