In the video: Yocheved Lifshitz, released from Hamas captivity, talks about her captivity/Photo: Reuters
A senior Israeli official told Walla on Wednesday that negotiations to release more hostages from Hamas in Gaza were at a crucial point. He said that if there was no progress in the coming days, Israel would advance to a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
Day 19 of the war - all updates
in the Gaza Strip At this stage, more than 200 people who were abducted from Israel to the Gaza Strip are being held, including Israelis with dual citizenship and foreigners.
"It is worth waiting with the ground operation even if there is only a 20% chance of a deal to release hostages," the Israeli official said. "But if there is no major breakthrough soon, there will be a ground operation. Hamas understands this, the Qataris understand it and the Americans understand it."
The assessment in Israel is that there will be no more unilateral moves by Hamas, similar to the two cases in which two abductees were released at a time. The senior Israeli official said Israel would be willing to reward Hamas as part of a deal in which women, children and the elderly would be released.
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