Hamas Leader Haniyeh Says Israel Will Not Accept Hostages Until All Palestinian Prisoners Are Released

Ismail Haniyeh. (Wikimedia Commons/council.gov.ru)

JAKARTA - Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh confirmed on Tuesday that the group would not release Israeli hostages until all Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons.

"They will not accept their prisoners at all, except after all of our detainees are released in prison," Haniyeh said while speaking at the International Muslim Cendekiawan Association conference in Doha, Qatar.

Haniyeh further emphasized that Israel "was unable to take a single prisoner, except after the resistance group accepted the ceasefire agreement."

Earlier, Israel said one of its kidnapped troops on October 7 had been rescued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the end of October, before a temporary ceasefire agreement was imposed.

So far, a total of 105 people have been released by Hamas during the interim ceasefire with Israel, which began on November 24 and ended in early December 1.

In return, 240 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons, mostly women and minors, and many of them have been detained. but never charged.

Israel believes 25 hostages were killed and still detained in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office told CNN on Friday. This leaves 107 hostages from last year's Hamas attack which is thought to be still alive.