The terrorist organization Hamas is now demanding the entry of at least 250 humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip daily as a precondition for returning to the negotiating table, a source familiar with the details of the talks told The Jerusalem Post.
This message was conveyed to the mediators in recent days, as part of Hamas’ new policy of refusing to engage with Israel unless there is a significant improvement in the humanitarian situation.
“There is a growing understanding that Hamas is not interested in a deal,” an Israeli official said.
“We are in discussions with the Americans. As a result, the prime minister is pushing for the release of the hostages while pursuing a military resolution, combined with the provision of humanitarian aid to areas outside the combat zones and, to the extent possible, to regions not under Hamas control.”
Following the visit of US President Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Israel and his meetings with senior Israeli officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been holding discussions regarding the future of the war in Gaza.
A broader meeting on the matter is expected to convene on Tuesday, an Israeli official told the Post.
Witkoff told the families of the hostages that Israel and the United States were currently working on a framework to end the war and secure the release of all hostages. At this stage, it is unclear when this plan will be presented and whether it will include an ultimatum to Hamas – either accept the deal or face a full-scale Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. A source involved in the talks said that “formulating a deal with Hamas to end the war will take months. These will be very complex negotiations.”
Hamas releases hostage videos
After the release of distressing images by terrorist groups showing hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke with Julien Harneis, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation to the Middle East. Netanyahu urged him to immediately intervene to ensure the hostages receive food and medical care.
“I told him clearly: ‘Hamas’s lie about starvation is being spread around the world, but the reality is that systematic starvation is being carried out against our hostages – men and women who are subjected to severe and brutal physical and psychological abuse. The world cannot remain indifferent to these horrific images, which evoke memories of Nazi crimes,’” the prime minister said in an official statement.
In addition, Netanyahu called for international condemnation of the terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad – and for an end to all forms of support for them, whether direct or indirect.
“I emphasized to him [Julien Lerisson] that the actions of these terrorist groups violate international law and the Geneva Convention,” the prime minister said.
Hostage Rom Braslavski is seen lying on a mattress, saying he has pain in his foot and has difficulty standing, and is suffering from severe hunger, in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad video originally published on Thursday.
The Braslavski’s family on Sunday night approved the publication of the contents of the propaganda video.
“I’ve run out of food and water. They would give me a little bit of food, but today, nothing at all,” he said in the propaganda video. “Only three pieces of falafel, that’s what I ate today. Yesterday I barely ate a plate of rice. Bring in food, a liter of water. I am on the verge of death.”
The video also shows Braslavski writing in a notebook in Hebrew: “Get me out of here now!” With a drawing of a hostage pin. The date on the notebook indicates that it was filmed on July 20 last month.
PIJ claimed that this was the last footage of Braslavski before contact with his guards was lost two days later.
Tami, Braslavski’s mother, said: “I tried to suppress the reality, but when I watched the video, reality hit me. When you hear him saying these things out loud, it becomes truth, despite how difficult it is to believe.
“The nightmare I was only afraid to imagine is real. The fear we live with has become more tangible than ever, and it’s important that the whole world sees this, despite my personal difficulty in publicly showing my Rom in the dire condition he’s in.
“I have never seen my son like this. Rom is not shouting or angry –he speaks quietly, in a weak voice like a person who has accepted the fact that there’s nothing left to fight for and may not come out of there alive,” she continued. “They say that when words run out, tears speak. Rom, my life, I am crying with you.”
Braslavski’s family said they were “deeply shaken” by the video’s contents.
Braslavski was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, where he was working security.