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<p><span style="font-weight:400">Negotiations over hostages held by Hamas began again on Saturday between the terror group and Israel.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Talks renewed after a new offensive by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip. Hamas official Taher al-Nono said that the latest negotiations have begun without “preconditions,” according to </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-confirms-new-gaza-ceasefire-talks-with-israel-qatar-saturday-2025-05-17/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight:400">Reuters</span></a><span style="font-weight:400">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed negotiators to stay in Qatar. An Israeli official said the prime minister has kept contact with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff “in an effort to dissuade Hamas from its refusal and to advance a deal for the release of our hostages,” according to </span><a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-hamas-say-gaza-talks-renewed-after-idf-initiates-major-new-offensive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight:400">The Times Of Israel</span></a><span style="font-weight:400">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz suggested that the new round of talks is because of Israel’s latest offensive, which was announced on Saturday. Katz said that the terror group’s current stance on negotiations “is in contrast to the uncooperative position they had taken up until this moment,” according to </span><a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-854313" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight:400">The Jerusalem Post</span></a><span style="font-weight:400">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Hamas last released a hostage on May 12. The terror group released the last living American citizen, Edan Alexander, from captivity after Alexander spent more than 18 months held hostage.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Israeli officials believe that the hostage group has as many as 23 hostages still alive. All hostages have been held by the terror group since October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists and Palestinians rushed across the border to Israel and attacked settlements and took hundreds captive.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Israel renewed its military campaign against Hamas on Saturday with airstrikes. It is unknown how many have been killed in the strikes. Hamas officials have claimed that more than 150 have died in the airstrikes, though the numbers are unreliable and Gaza Health Ministry data is </span><a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/why-we-shouldnt-trust-the-facts-coming" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight:400">suspected</span></a><span style="font-weight:400"> of being inflated and doctored for propaganda purposes.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">Katz said that the new offensive, dubbed Operation Gideon Chariots, is being led with “great force,” according to </span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-gaza-military-offensive-food-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight:400">CBS News</span></a><span style="font-weight:400">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">“The heroism of IDF soldiers, the unity of the people and the determination of the political echelon increase the chance of the return of the hostages – as it was then and as it is now,” said Katz.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">IDF spokesman Col. Avichai Adraee said the Israeli military is “expanding and increasing the bombing and pressure on Hamas throughout the Strip – from north to south, above and below ground, and even outside the Strip.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400">The new offensive will not stop until Israel has accomplished its aims of rescuing the hostages or having them returned, and until Hamas has been dismantled, military officials said.</span></p>
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Hamas Agrees To New Hostage Talks After Israel Pummels Terror Group In New Offensive
