Israel committed to Gaza peace deal: Israeli diplomat

Israel continues to follow Gaza peace deal until all hostages return, with hope for smooth negotiations and progress.

Israel will continue to follow the Gaza peace deal until all the hostages return, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi Fares Saeb said.

“We will follow the deal signed until we see all our hostages back; the living ones to continue their lives with their families and the deceased ones to receive a proper burial and funeral back at their homes,” he told PTI in New Delhi on Monday (January 27, 2025) on the sidelines of an event.

The Israeli diplomat hoped for the smooth conclusion of the first phase of the negotiations.

“After the first phase, Hamas tried to break the deal by not releasing the last female civilian hostage. We viewed this as a breach but chose not to break the entire deal because we want our hostages back. We proceeded with the second step and halted the movement of Gazans to the north until Hamas adheres to the agreement.

“We hope to see the release of two female hostages, one civilian and one soldier, along with five male civilians in the next few days,” the Israeli diplomat emphasised.

Early on Monday (Jan. 27), Qatar stated that Hamas would release the civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, along with two others before Friday (Jan. 31). In response, Israeli officials agreed to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza starting Monday.

Around 90 hostages are still believed to be in captivity.