Hamas releases video of two hostages as it considers a ceasefire

Hamas today released a video showing two live hostages as it examined Israel's latest proposal for a ceasefire, apparently in an attempt to increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off a major offensive that would intensify the war in Gaza.

The Palestinian militant group's military wing released a video showing American-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel, 64, and Israeli Omri Miran, 47.

Israel's offer of a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages was in response to the group's position conveyed to mediators on April 13, senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya said in a statement. The group will file a response once it is finished with the investigation, he said, giving no specific timeline.

Earlier this week, the United States and 17 other nations urged Hamas to release all hostages held in Gaza, including its own citizens, in a bid to revive talks that have stalled in recent weeks and provide more humanitarian aid to the coastal enclave. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the US, EU and others.

Netanyahu is facing increasing calls to forge a ceasefire with Hamas amid international concern over his plans to attack the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where a million refugees are seeking refuge.

Israel has long signaled its intention to launch a ground operation in Rafah to achieve its goal of destroying Hamas. Israeli military officials estimate that 5,000 to 8,000 Hamas fighters are holed up there, along with some of their leaders, representing Hamas' last line of defense.

Protests over the fate of the hostages are also escalating within Israel, particularly since Hamas recently released a video of a 23-year-old US-Israeli citizen, whose mother was the most prominent activist for the prisoners' release.

This sparked calls for Netanyahu to resign. Many accused the long-serving prime minister of prolonging the war to remain in office despite his failure to prevent Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7.

Thousands gathered in central Tel Aviv late today, including relatives of Gaza prisoners, demanding a hostage-taking deal and early elections. “Netanyahu is blinded by power – he must go,” one protester, Evyatar Gol, told Bloomberg News.

Former prime minister and opposition leader Yair Lapid took part in the rally. “Netanyahu, you have a majority of the Israeli people for a deal,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.

Israel told a high-level visiting Egyptian delegation on Friday that it had made significant concessions and that the latest offer represented a “last-minute opportunity” for an agreement before the entry into Rafah, Channel 12 reported, citing to a senior Israeli official who was not identified.

President Joe Biden vowed today he “will not rest” until every hostage is released.

“You have my word. Their families have my word,” he wrote on X, where he posted a photo of his meeting with four-year-old released American-Israeli prisoner Abigail Idan earlier this week. Idan, whose parents were killed in the Hamas attack, was released in a hostage exchange in November.

The US is seeking a temporary ceasefire in Gaza that would see Hamas release female, wounded, elderly and sick hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners and an increase in humanitarian aid. In later stages, the remaining prisoners – including the bodies of those who died – could be released under a process that U.S. officials say should ultimately end the fighting.

The ongoing talks between Israel and Hamas were mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar.

Netanyahu is leading the most right-wing government in Israel's history, and his hardline allies have condemned renewed efforts to reach a deal with Hamas. One of them, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, warned of a “dangerous capitulation by Israel” in a post on X.

Saudi Arabia plans to host high-level talks on Gaza's future on Monday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to attend and visit Israel a day later.

Al-Hayya told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas would lay down its arms if a Palestinian state was established along pre-1967 borders. He insisted it would not back down from its calls for an end to the war in Gaza and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, which Israel has rejected.

Israel's offer is not a clear response to Hamas' demands for a troop withdrawal and a comprehensive ceasefire, an unidentified senior Hamas official told Al Mayadeen television. Unless significant changes are made to the proposal, there is little prospect of an agreement being reached, the official added.

Israel has been waging a devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip since Hamas militants poured across the border nearly seven months ago, killing about 1,200 people. The group kidnapped another 250 people, more than 130 of whom are still living in the Gaza Strip, some of whom are dead.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have died, according to Hamas-run health authorities, which do not distinguish between military and civilian casualties.

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Galit Altstein and Shamim Adam from Bloomberg News contributed to this report. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.