Report: Official denies Egypt transferred list of hostages in deal

An Israeli source close to the negotiations aiming at the release of the hostages told Israel's Kan news on Wednesday that, despite reports of progress in the ceasefire and hostage release talks, Israel has not received the names of the hostages to be released during the first phase.

"No list of hostages has been transmitted to us," he said. According to him, "the visit of the Chief of Staff [Herzi Halevi] and the head of Shin Bet [Ronen Bar] to Cairo did not address the subject of the hostages."

This comes after a report in Arabic media, including in the Saudi Al-Arabiya and the Lebanese Al-Akhbar, which claimed that Egypt had received a list of names from Hamas and transferred them to Israel.

According to the reports, the terrorist organization proposed that complete control of the Rafah Crossing would be transferred to the Palestinian Authority and that the Israeli Defense Forces would withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor.

Al-Akhbar, affiliated with Hezbollah, reported on Wednesday morning that Egypt had relayed to Israel the names of 30 hostages who "meet the initial conditions set for the first phase of the agreement." According to the newspaper, Egyptian sources specified that "the trend is to release an Israeli hostage every two days, to transfer medicine to a number of hostages in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, and to transfer a number of trucks carrying medical and humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip." It was also determined that the Israeli soldiers held hostage would be released in the next phase of the agreement.

As part of the negotiations, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, where they met with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Hassan Rashad, and high-ranking officials of the Egyptian army. During the meeting, which lasted about six hours, the parties tried to make progress on some controversial issues concerning the war in Gaza. However, the meeting has been scheduled for weeks, indicating that progress in the negotiations has not necessarily been made.

Israeli officials familiar with the details of the negotiations told Kan that at this stage, optimism is premature, since progress depends on the flexibility of both Israel and Hamas. On the other hand, an Egyptian source said that "Israel still expresses reluctance to move towards an agreement, particularly due to 'warlike' elements within its government."

"The main points discussed by the parties are not fundamentally different from those discussed in the past," he said. "The negotiations are intense, but Israel and Hamas have not yet reached resolutions."