Hamas Agrees to Release Israeli Hostages Captured in Oct. 7 Attack

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00:00There's a very pointed statement here that seems like it includes a lot of conditions,

00:05but the contours of it does seem to suggest that Hamas is willing to turn over all of

00:09the Israeli hostages, both those alive and deceased, and move towards some sort of formal

00:15agreement to end the fighting in Gaza.

00:18What do we know?

00:19That's right, Romain.

00:21What we see from this statement so far, President Trump had given Hamas until Sunday at 6 p.m.

00:28to give an answer to his 20-point plan.

00:31What we've received here in the last few minutes is a statement from Hamas saying that they

00:35are willing to give up all of the hostages, both living and dead, which has been a big

00:41priority for President Trump.

00:44But what we're not seeing, which is perhaps equally important, is an acceptance of all

00:48of the 20 points on the plan that was unveiled on Monday by President Trump alongside Prime

00:55Minister Netanyahu, and so that's going to be key to seeing what the U.S. response is

01:00now.

01:01The idea that some of these points, which we've talked to experts who have said certain things

01:05like Hamas agreeing to unilateral disarmament might be very difficult for Hamas on the ground

01:12in Gaza to accept.

01:14And so looking to see what those discussions look like, where the two sides remain apart,

01:20what they might be able to come to agreement on there in terms of a path forward.

01:24Right.

01:25And when it comes to the path forward for the Gaza Strip, talk to us a little bit about that,

01:29because reading through some of the details here, Hamas says that regarding those other

01:35matters, that a unified national stance is needed to address any relevant issues regarding the

01:40future of the Strip.

01:41What does a unified national stance mean in this context?

01:45Well, that's a great question.

01:48There's been an open question about who will govern in Gaza after the war.

01:53I was a couple of weeks ago in Jerusalem with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and with Prime

01:58Minister Netanyahu.

01:59And I asked them both about the planned Israeli offensive since August to go into Gaza City.

02:05And what both had indicated was that they were hoping there would be a way to bring the

02:09war to an end for Hamas to give up the hostages without that having to happen in terms of that

02:15potentially devastating operation.

02:18But for Israel, it's key that this October 7, 2023 terrorist attack, 1,200 people killed,

02:26many more taken hostage, that this never could be repeated.

02:30And so whether that is the Palestinian Authority, which there's been some skepticism, certainly

02:37for Israel not acceptable for Hamas to remain in power, that's a key question for us going

02:41forward.