AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime is aiming to finalize a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas before the end of the month, local Israeli media reported. 
Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily cited an unnamed senior official with the Zionist regime who expressed optimism about a potential agreement.
The claim aligns with earlier statements from the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) which described “unprecedented progress” in indirect negotiations and called this week “crucial” for a deal.
The Zionist regime currently holds more than 10,300 Palestinians in its prisons, while Hamas is detaining around 100 captives in Gaza. The group has previously said that dozens of the captives were killed in indiscriminate airstrikes.
“Our goal is to secure an agreement to release the abductees in Gaza by the end of this month,” the unnamed Israeli official told the newspaper, indicating that while most terms of the deal are clear, sticking points remain over the number of captives to be released in the first phase.
“There are significant differences over the number of captives to be freed. Hamas is willing to release a small group, but Israel is pushing to double that figure,” the official said.
Negotiations are focused on the number and identities of the captives to be exchanged, he added.
Separately, Zionist foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar and war minister Israel Katz met privately Monday with Adam Boehler, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming captives affairs envoy. Boehler requested confidentiality regarding the meeting’s details, according to local media.
Hamas has not yet commented on the reports but has repeatedly indicated its willingness to negotiate. In May, the group accepted a proposal by U.S. President Joe Biden, but Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu later rejected it, insisting on continuing military operations in Gaza.
Hamas has maintained that any agreement requires a complete ceasefire and the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Gaza.