(14 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerusalem – 14 January 2025
1. Families with photos of hostages after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his office
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Gil Dickmann, cousin of hostage Carmel Gat, killed in captivity in Gaza:
“We are demanding from Prime Minister Netanyahu, from Qatar, from President-elect Trump, to agree upon all the stages of negotiation and get all the hostages back. We don’t want more hostages left behind, and we don’t want to hear about more hostages being killed in captivity like my cousin.”
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ruby Chen, whose son, Itay Chen, was killed in an Israeli military base during Hamas attack:
“The Prime Minister, unfortunately, is moving forward with a deal that does not include my son and 65 additional hostages where it is not known how my son is going to come out. And for most of the families, this deal is unacceptable. There needs to be a phased deal where we know that all the hostages come out.”
4. Close of hostage poster
5. Protester in wheelchair holding banner reading (Hebrew) “No revival without a deal”
STORYLINE:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tuesday with the family members of hostages held in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Afterwards, the families told reporters that the agreement would not include the release of all the hostages in the first stage.
“We are demanding from Prime Minister Netanyahu, from Qatar, from President-elect Trump, to agree upon all the stages of negotiation and get all the hostages back. We do not want more hostages left behind,” said Gil Dickmann, the cousin of hostage Carmel Gat who was killed in captivity in Gaza.
Some family members, who have not met Netanyahu, complained that he failed to address their concerns about keeping some hostages to be released in later stages.
“The Prime Minister, unfortunately, is moving forward with a deal that does not include my son and 65 additional hostages where it is not known how my son is going to come out," said Ruby Chen whose son, Itay Chen, was killed in an Israeli military base during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 2023.
"For most of the families, this deal is unacceptable. There needs to be a phased deal that we know that all the hostages come out,” Chen added.
Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday.
Mediator Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the “closest point” yet to sealing a deal that would bring them a step closer to ending the war.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity.
An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized.
The three-phase plan would need to be submitted to the Israeli Cabinet for final approval.
All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the 15-month war and secure the release of dozens of hostages captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered it.
Some 100 people are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third are dead.
Any deal is expected to pause the fighting and bring hopes for winding down the most deadly and destructive war they’ve ever fought, a conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
Meanwhile, dozens of Israeli hostages would be reunited with loved ones.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/90b0e968a81a4f44a5a482ded6b084eb
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in January 19, 2025, 6:05 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
