Hamas on Friday urged US president Donald Trump to meet with Palestinian prisoners freed during the on-going truce in Gaza, following his meeting with released Israeli hostages the day before.
Just as he spoke of the 鈥榰nbearable suffering鈥� of Israeli hostages, the US president should 鈥榮how the same level of respect to freed Palestinian political prisoners and allocate time to meet and listen to their stories鈥�, senior Hamas leader Basem Naim wrote in an open letter addressed to Trump.
More than 9,500 Palestinian prisoners were currently being held in Israeli prisons, he said.
On Thursday, Trump met in the Oval Office with eight former Israeli hostages who were released as part of the truce agreement that took effect on January 19.
The first phase of the agreement led to the release of 33 hostages, including eight who were deceased, in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian detainees.
In late November 2023, 105 hostages had already been freed during a one-week truce in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Of the 251 people abducted during Hamas鈥檚 attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, 58 are still being held in Gaza, 34 of whom have been declared dead by the Israeli military.
Hamas鈥檚 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to official figures.
Israel鈥檚 retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 48,446 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory鈥檚 health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures reliable.
Meanwhile, Hamas released on Friday a video of an Israeli hostage seen alive and addressing his family after identifying himself.
In the footage, he is heard urging Israeli authorities to implement the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The ceasefire鈥檚 first phase ended last weekend, after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
While Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the deal鈥檚 second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.
A high-level Hamas delegation was in Cairo Friday to advance efforts to prolong a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, which has largely paused hostilities with Israel, two senior Hamas officials said.
鈥楾he delegation will meet with Egyptian officials on Saturday to discuss the latest developments, assess progress in implementing the ceasefire agreement and address matters related to launching the second phase of the deal,鈥� one official said.
During its talks with Egyptian mediators, the Hamas delegation will demand that Israel 鈥榠mplement the agreement, begin negotiations for the second phase, and open the border crossings to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip,鈥� he said.