Israeli media: Progress regarding prisoner exchange deal, no agreement
An Israeli political source told Israeli journalists that there is progress regarding negotiations, yet no final agreement has been reached for the deal.
Quoting an Israeli political source who participated in the war cabinet session held earlier on Sunday, Israeli reporters Moriah Asraf and Doron Kadosh, on their Telegram channel Security Cabinet, wrote that "there is no closed deal yet, but it certainly seems that there is progress."
Commenting on Arab reports talking about a possible truce that was allegedly set to begin at 11 am on Monday, the Israeli source said, "This is a fake, no decision has been made."
According to Israeli sources familiar with the deal, the matter on the table, from an Israeli perspective, is a deal to "liberate dozens of Israeli women and children" held captive in the Gaza Strip. However, the Israeli reporters noted Hamas had said that it required a ceasefire in order to determine the locations of some of the captives detained by other Palestinian organizations.
Read more: Only 'minor' challenges to prisoner swap deal: Qatar
The Israeli channel highlighted that "Israel tends to reach a deal despite this statement by Hamas, demanding that they locate them (the abductees who did not have them) during the ceasefires."
The ceasefire is expected to also result in the release of female and underaged Palestinian detainees held in Israeli occupation prisons in exchange for the release of dozens of women and children captives in the Gaza Strip, all of which is set to happen within the anticipated but not yet finalized 5-day ceasefire.
As for the number of days that will be included in the ceasefire, the channel claimed that "Israel" is "willing to be flexible on this issue" based on the number of captives set to be released.
Hamas refutes claims that it reached prisoner swap deal with 'Israel'
Izzat al-Rasheq, a member of Hamas' Political Bureau, refuted claims that the movement had reached a prisoners exchange deal that was allegedly supposed to have gone into effect on Monday.
In a similar context, Israeli officials took part in a meeting of the war cabinet late on Sunday. The meeting's agenda focused on the exploration of a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance. However, Israeli officials informed on the matter said that "no deal has yet been reached," as they pointed to progress in mediated negotiations.
Israeli media reported that discussions on the ceasefire "are certainly progressing but will take time." According to Israeli media outlets, a suggested deal would see 50 non-military Israeli captives returned to occupied Palestinian territories in exchange for 50 Palestinian detainees held by "Israel", that solely include women and children.
Earlier on Sunday, Al Mayadeen's sources revealed that a final formula for a ceasefire fulfilled all the conditions set by Hamas during negotiations.
All women and children must be released
Informed sources indicated that the Palestinian Resistance movement expressed its readiness to release the Israeli settlers held captive since the beginning of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, while emphasizing the fact that the Israeli side is delaying the implementation of the deal to this point.
According to the sources, Hamas had stipulated the release of all Palestinian women and children in Israeli occupation prisons in exchange for the release of dozens of settlers held captives in Gaza.
The sources indicated that in order to secure the release of these Israeli captives, Hamas requested a five-day ceasefire, with the provision of a secure environment and a halt of the movement of Israeli drones over the Gaza Strip.
The Resistance also demanded that aid enter both the southern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip rather than only the South, where humanitarian aid trucks were allowed to enter in the past weeks through the Rafah Crossing.
Read more: Hamas leader re-engaging in talks on Prisoner exchange: Axios