Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar gave a briefing today (Tuesday) in Italy to a room full of pro-Israel influencers, where he explained that the reported hostage deal is "gradual" rather than partial, as many media outlets are saying.
As part of his diplomatic visit to Italy, in which he was set to meet with Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Matteo Salvini, and Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also convened a meeting with dozens of influencers and opinion leaders working to improve Israel's image in Italy.
During the meeting, Sa'ar briefed them on the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, which is reportedly being finalized:
"Over the last few days, we have very intensive negotiations with significant involvement by both the current and future American administration. Both of them want to reach a hostage deal this week or before January 20."
He qualified his statement by saying "of course, from our perspective it is good, because we want our people back home and we want to achieve a hostage deal. This is not a partial deal, this is a gradual deal."
The reported deal has three stages, only one of which contains clear outlines and details and the other two remaining vague and open to further negotiation.
According to reports in the Arab media, Hamas will hand over 33 hostages, most of whom are presumed to be alive. In exchange, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian terrorists, some of them carrying life sentences.
In addition, the IDF will redeploy within the Gaza Strip though not entirely evacuate it.
The ceasefire of the first stage is reported to be between a month and a half to three months.
During this period, the two sides will negotiate the next two phases, which will culminate in the return of all remaining hostages and the near-complete withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip, with a new government to run the Strip emerging afterward.
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