Speaking before the Knesset's National Security Committee today (Wednesday), Shimon Or, uncle of hostage Avinathan Or, testified that he spoke with Stategic Affairs Ron Dermer, who gave him a pessimistic assessment of the prospects of a hostage deal.
According to Or, Dermer said that Hamas rejected even the hypothetical possibility of an exchange of all prisoners in exchange for the IDF ending the fighting "entirely."
Instead, they insist on a two-stage deal with just 17 live hostages freed in the first stage, in exchange for the IDF withdrawing from all strategic locations, including the Philadelphi corridor.
The second stage would take place under conditions of an unlimited cease-fire and international guarantees for the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip and Hamas returning to "full governance" in the Strip.
In other words, according to Or, Hamas is willing to drag out the second stage even for "ten years" and maximize its exploitation of the hostages, while Israel experiences social "chaos" over the hostage question.
