While many American officials have confirmed during the past hours and days that efforts are continuing to conclude a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and exchange prisoners between Hamas and Israel, there is overwhelming concern in the Israeli street, especially among the families of the prisoners.

Israeli sources confirmed that there is great concern that chaos will lead to the deaths of prisoners and that Hamas will lose control over them, according to what Channel 12 Israel reported.

She also pointed out that the security establishment warned the government that dismantling Hamas would lead to the collapse of the entity capable of releasing prisoners.

On the other hand, people close to US President Donald Trump informed the relatives of Idan Alexander, one of the prisoners who appeared two days ago in a video broadcast by Hamas, appealing to Trump to seek his release, that the president-elect is very interested in concluding a deal that would lead to the release of the detainees before his return to the White House, after his inauguration on January 20.

Alexander addressed Trump in the video, urging him to use his influence to negotiate, criticizing the policy of President Joe Biden's administration in dealing with this issue.

Criticism of Netanyahu

At the same time, criticism continues to pour in against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of ignoring this file and wasting the lives of more than 100 Israelis who have been inside the Palestinian Strip since October 7 of last year (2023).

Retired Israeli Major General Yitzhak Brick considered that Netanyahu abandoned the prisoners twice, first when they were kidnapped and second when he refused to negotiate their release, in order to preserve his government and position.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed on Sunday that the administration is "actively working on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but has not yet reached any agreement." He stressed that his country is deeply engaged with the main actors in the region, adding that there is continuous daily work being done for the truce.

Hamas leaders explained that "the movement is open to discussing all ideas and proposals that lead to stopping the war, the Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, the return of the displaced, and the entry of humanitarian and relief aid, in addition to a serious deal to exchange prisoners."

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been mediating for months in sponsoring negotiations and rounds of meetings in order to reach a deal that would stop the war in the Palestinian Strip and lead to the release of Israeli prisoners, who have been held inside Gaza since October 7 of last year. However, the talks did not lead to any results, especially since Netanyahu refused to withdraw militarily from Gaza.