Senior Israeli officials said they have reduced the number of hostages that Hamas must release for a 40-day cease-fire from 40 to 33, according to a post on X from OSINTdefender.
The post from OSINTdefender, which bills itself as an open source intelligence monitor, noted the number was decreased due to the likelihood that less than 40 of the over 130 hostages are still alive in the Gaza Strip.
It added: Secretary of State "Antony Blinken said following this that the Israeli proposal is extraordinarily generous with Hamas being the only side that is preventing a deal."
Hamas had told international mediators it does not have 40 living Israeli hostages who meet the criteria for the first phase of a cease-fire, an Israeli official and a source familiar with the matter told CNN earlier this month.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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