Hamas has directed other Gaza-based terrorist organizations to prepare detailed information on the captives they are holding as part of a potential deal with Israel, according to sources cited Sunday by AFP.

Members of groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Resistance Committees were reportedly asked to confirm the status and conditions of their hostages—specifically, whether they remain alive. The request is seen as an indication of possible negotiations aimed at exchanging hostages for a ceasefire.

A Hamas insider told AFP that contacts have intensified with Qatari, Egyptian, and Turkish mediators. The source added that the terrorist organization anticipates another round of indirect talks with Israel to begin “in the coming days” in Cairo. However, the source urged a halt to Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip, claiming the presence of Israeli troops on the ground complicates efforts to locate and assess the hostages.

According to IDF figures, 96 of the 251 hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack remain in Gaza after 425 days. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered Gaza nearly a decade ago, along with the remains of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014’s “Operation Protective Edge.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz suggested on Wednesday that Jerusalem’s pressure on Hamas may have opened a window for a potential hostage-for-ceasefire agreement. Talks between the two sides—conducted indirectly through American, Egyptian, Qatari, and other intermediaries—have stalled repeatedly over the past year.

A Hamas official told AFP last week that the group is awaiting heightened international pressure on Israel to end the conflict and finalize a deal, similar to past arrangements. Meanwhile, an internal Hamas document, cited by Reuters, warns that if Israeli forces attempt a rescue operation, the terrorists have been instructed to kill their hostages.

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