JERUSALEM POST
Hamas rejects Israeli proposal to release 1,500 inmates for hostages
February 15, 2024

Hamas has rejected an Israeli offer to free all hostages taken into the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of 1,500 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, Saudi media outlet Al-Arabiya reported on Thursday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that a deal on the release of hostages held by Hamas remains possible, but there remain “very hard” issues to be resolved. Asked whether an agreement could be reached on a break in hostilities before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on March 10, Blinken said an earlier response from Hamas on a potential deal had included some “clear non-starters” but offered the possibility of working toward an agreement. READ MORE

WASHINGTON TIMES Clifford May: Sinwar agoniste Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind behind the Oct. 7 invasion of Israel and the worst single-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, is believed to be lurking within the subterranean labyrinth that lies beneath Gaza. With funds provided by the “international donor community,” Hamas constructed more than 300 miles of tunnels – a network more extensive than the London Underground. We may assume that Mr. Sinwar is somewhere below the southern Gazan cities of Khan Yunis or Rafah, and that he is surrounded by hostages abducted from Israel and barely clinging to life.