Hamas Denies Reports of Israeli Prisoner Exchange

Gaza Refugees/UNRWA DOCUMENTATION

JAKARTA - Senior members of Hamas have denied a number of media reports that said the Palestinian resistance group had agreed to a prisoner exchange with Israel.

"Reports regarding the prisoner exchange agreement are not true," said senior Hamas member Izzat al-Rishq in a short statement quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Monday, November 20.

Israeli newspapers also dismissed similar reports.

“There is nothing yet,” The Jerusalem Post newspaper quoted a senior Israeli official as saying.

Earlier on Sunday, November 19, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that a prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas was "imminent."

Hamas is believed to be holding 239 Israelis following a cross-border attack on October 7. The group claims to be ready to release prisoners in exchange for the release of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

There have been 13,000 Palestinians, including more than 9,000 women and children, killed and more than 30,000 injured by Israeli air and ground attacks since October 7, according to the latest data.

The Israeli blockade has also cut off fuel, electricity and water supplies to Gaza while reducing aid supplies.

Meanwhile, the death toll on the Israeli side totaled around 1,200 people, according to official data.