At a time when Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced, from Beirut, that his country was holding talks for the purpose of mediating the release of Israeli and foreign prisoners from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, and that the countries of the world to which the foreign prisoners belong had blessed this step and assigned him to negotiate on their behalf, The Israeli government continued to marginalize these negotiations and insist on liberating the prisoners by force.

The new Israeli official in charge of this file, Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, said that the government is making great efforts on the issue, but he did not provide any details and did not express any intention to enter into negotiations. He said, "Hamas must release them unconditionally."

Israel initially rejected any talk of mediation to conclude an exchange deal. It rejected a proposal for a preliminary deal, according to which children, the elderly, women, and sick Israeli and foreign prisoners would be released, in exchange for sick, women, and children Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons as well. But the American administration, along with strong support for Israel, requested a change in the Israeli approach and placed the issue of prisoners at the top of the scale of attention. It sent a specialized delegation to address this file, including Stephen Gillan, Deputy Presidential Envoy for Prisoners and Missing Persons Affairs, and a group of American experts on the subject.

In a meeting with Hersh and his crew, Gilan said that the United States stands by the security of Israel and the return of its prisoners, and that the United States has a specialized staff that works permanently to follow up on the affairs of prisoners and missing persons, and that it also has a number of figures who participated in negotiations to release prisoners in several places in the world. He has gained rich experience in this field, and he personally and all his team put their energies into serving the State of Israel to help release the hostages.

An American team remained in Tel Aviv to follow up on the issue and prevent it from being marginalized. With the publication of information about the prisoners and the revelation that at least a fifth of them were foreign citizens: French, British, Germans, Chinese, Thais, South Africans and others, their countries began to exert pressure to change the Israeli approach and demand that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government be careful in its bombing so that none of the prisoners would be harmed. In Israel, too, many voices have been raised demanding that the government change its approach and abandon its stubborn position of not concluding exchange deals. Two Hebrew newspapers called on the government to put the release of Israeli and foreign prisoners at the top of its attention, even if the price is the release of all Palestinian prisoners and the closure of prisons.

Hence, the Turkish proposal was encouraging to those who support this position and demand a deal to release them. On Tuesday evening, it was published in Israel that “a support ship from Turkey docked in Haifa port carrying 4,500 tons of vegetables, 80 percent of which were tomatoes, requested by Israel after its agricultural sector was damaged by the war in Gaza.” This rapid assistance was considered a goodwill gesture from Ankara to facilitate dialogue on the necessity of concluding a deal. Sources in Tel Aviv said that Turkey maintains an open line of communication with the Hamas leadership and received a green light from this leadership to conduct negotiations. It confirmed that the statements made by Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the military arm of Hamas, about the status and numbers of prisoners, and the publication of the tape in which the Israeli prisoner of French origin, Maya Shem, appeared, is part of the response of the Hamas leadership to Turkey.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, had published a tape on Monday, in which Shim appeared receiving medical care after suffering an injury to her right hand. She said that she is 21 years old and that she is still in Gaza. The prisoner praised the treatment of the “Al-Qassam” officers, explaining that “she was injured in the hand and underwent a 3-hour surgery, and they took care of her and provided her with the required medicine, care and medication.” She asked to return to her family “as quickly as possible,” saying: “Please get us out of here.”

The Israeli army responded to this tape with a statement published on the “X” platform in which it said that its representatives were making “contacts with the family,” considering that “Hamas is trying, by publishing the video, to show itself as a humanitarian organization.” He stressed that he "is working with all intelligence and operational means to return the kidnapped people."

In Paris, the publication of the tape sparked widespread reactions. The Elysee Palace said that President Emmanuel Macron “denounces the kidnapping of innocent people and calls for their immediate liberation” and that he is “committed to releasing the citizens of his country,” amid expectations that he will visit Tel Aviv to “stand in solidarity with it against (Hamas) terrorism and seek to release the prisoners and provide food aid to the people of Gaza and address their suffering.” Great humanity.

Sources in Tel Aviv said that Western countries disagree with Israel and show a willingness to negotiate the release of the hostages, and when they reach an agreement through their own efforts, they will seek to persuade Israel and perhaps pressure it until it accepts it and releases prisoners to help free the rest of the prisoners.

It is noteworthy that Israel estimates the number of prisoners at two hundred people, while Abu Ubaida announced that their number is between 200 and 250 prisoners or more. Hamas holds prisoners in underground detention centers in various places and claimed that 9 of them were killed due to Israeli bombing.

Source: Al Sharq Al Awsat