Ali Baraka, a member of Hamas' leadership abroad, has claimed that the terror group is not creating obstacles in negotiations for a ceasefire-prisoner swap deal. In a conversation with Quds Press , Baraka said that the Hamas delegation is negotiating with great seriousness and flexibility, in an attempt to reach an agreement which will bring about the end of the "war of destruction and starvation, which the occupation's army is conducting against our nation in the Gaza Strip." According to him, Hamas has agreed to release 34 Israeli hostages in the first stage of a deal, in order to ease the process of reaching a comprehensive deal to end the war. Related articles: Israel passes counter-proposal for ceasefire to mediators Israel demanding 10 living hostages; Hamas insists on only 5 Prepare for talks to release 11 hostages Steve Witkoff's new proposal for a ceasefire deal Israel and Hamas are now discussing the possibility of delaying an agreement on the details and mechanism for implementing the next stages of a deal, after the first stage is completed. The negotiations in Qatar have been ongoing, and there are efforts to reach a deal before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
