Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he hoped to reach an agreement in a few days for the release of more Israeli hostages retained by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamás.
Netanyahu said that 50 hostages were still captive from Hamas. Of that figure, he said, it is believed that only 20 are alive.
“I want to get them all. We now have an agreement that will allegedly take half of the living and half of the dead,” Netanyahu said in an interview in the Newsmax program “The Record With Greta van Sustain” that was broadcast on Thursday.
“So we will have 10 living hostages and about 12 deadbut I will also take them out. I hope we can complete it in a few days, “he added.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s reprisals have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, and have reduced much of Gaza to debris.
There have been two fire between the two parts – one in November 2023 and another in January 2025 – since the fighting began.
Netanyahu said that Israel and Hamas will probably keep the fire of 60 dayS, that both parties could use to try to end the conflict.
Hamas said on Wednesday that there were several conflicting points in the high fire conversations, As the aid flow, the withdrawal of the Israeli forces of the Gaza Strip and “genuine guarantees for a high permanent fire.”
Netanyahu’s interview with Newsmax occurs at a time when He concludes his third visit to Washington since President Donald Trump took office in January.
Speaking of Trump, The Israeli leader said that his country had never had “such a friend, such a support for Israel, to the Jewish state, in the White House.”
Last month, the United States joined Israel to attack Iran, A movement that Trump has said that “deleted” three of Iran’s nuclear sites.
When asked about an evaluation of damage, Netanyahu said: “In a matter of months, they could have produced atomic bombs.”
