Gaza nightmare could be 'stopped' by key move according to negotiations insider - The Mirror

Gaza nightmare could be 'stopped' by key move according to negotiations insiderLeading Israeli activist and former negotiator with Hamas says he has just learned the militant group would

release all hostages in exchange for an immediate end to the bloody Gaza warNewsChris Hughes Defence and Security Editor14:58, 29 May 2025Former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin - helped

free Israeli hostage Gilad Shalit - left. 2011(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror) An Israeli activist and former hostage negotiator has claimed Hamas will release all of the remaining

hostages in exchange for an end to war in Gaza. US-born Gershon Baskin made the announcement as multiple explosions rang out near Palestinians gathering at a controversial Gaza aid

distribution centre.

But he added that Israel refuses to end the war which killed another 50 Palestinians today as it is determined to wipe out Hamas completely. Over 50 Palestinians died from Israeli airstrikes

and gunfire today and Israel announced it will establish another 22 settlements in the West Bank. The settler announcement has infuriated Palestinians who say it was made under the cover of

the Gaza war.

‌Israeli tanks take up position outside Gaza(Image: AFP via Getty Images)‌ Baskin, 66, said in a statement: “Let it be known, one of the mediators told me today that Hamas is willing to free

all 58 hostages at one time but demand the end of the war. The mediator told me: ‘Israel refuses to accept a permanent ceasefire.’

“I repeat what I have been saying for many months - negotiating any deal with Hamas that leaves hostages behind for any period of time puts them at risk and is a declaration by the

government of Israel that they are willing to sacrifice the hostages so that Netanyahu can save his coalition.”

Palestinians forced on the move carry belongings(Image: AP)Article continues below Baskin, who helped negotiate the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit i n 2011, said that

Netanyahu and his government is putting “their own political interests ahead of those of Israel.”

And he added: “Israel continues to kill innocent people in Gaza. Gaza is totally destroyed - an entire civilization has been decimated by Israel in Gaza. The people of Gaza want Hamas out of

their lives and want Israel to end this war. The people of Israel want this war to end and for the hostages to be brought home.

War-battered Gaza under attack daily(Image: AFP via Getty Images)‌ “This war must end now and the only way it will end is when President Trump finally tells Netanyahu to end the war, and to

make a deal to bring the hostages home.” And he even declared that Palestinians and their “Arab neighbours” will make Hamas “pay for what they have brought to the Palestinian people.”

Israel will establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorization, it has announced.

Smoke rises in southern Gaza after another blast(Image: AP)‌ Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want all three

territories for their future state.

Most of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving the decades-old conflict.

Israeli protest and demand hostages releases(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)‌ In 2005, Israel withdrew its settlements from the Gaza Strip, but leading figures in the current government

have called for them to be re-established. War in Gaza began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which militants stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and

abducting 251.

Palestinians carry boxes of aid(Image: AP) Hamas still holds 58 hostages, around a third of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements. Israeli forces have

rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does

not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.

Article continues below Gaza has been blockaded for three months, leading to major alarm over thousands of children facing malnutrition. Some mothers have claimed children have been forced

to eat animal feed.

And there have been claims Gaza's dogs are feeding off corpses of the dead, adding to the horror of the war.