"There has been some news on this subject": Benjamin Netanyahu wants to advance negotiations on the Gaza hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday evening, June 15, that he had identified "an opening" regarding the hostages held in the Gaza Strip and had given orders on Friday to move forward with negotiations for their release.

"I gave instructions the day before yesterday to move the negotiations forward because I have identified an opening, and I am not giving up on anyone," Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video released by his office. Netanyahu did not provide further details on the negotiations.

In an interview with the American channel Fox News, Benjamin Netanyahu later referred to the proposal of the American President Donald Trump 's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff , providing for "a 60-day ceasefire (in Gaza) during which half of the hostages would be released immediately."

This proposal has been the subject of indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas for more than two months, so far without result.

But "there has been some news on this," and "I hope we can do it, because I am determined to get them out," Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News, without elaborating.

The announcement comes on the third day of military clashes between Israel and Iran triggered by an Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic.

The Israeli army announced Sunday that the remains of the unidentified hostage brought back to Israel on Wednesday were those of Aviv Atzili, killed on October 7, 2023, on the first day of the war triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Of the 251 people kidnapped that day in Israel, 52 are still being held in the Gaza Strip, at least 30 of whom are dead, according to Israeli authorities.