Hamas has demanded Israel to release all Palestinian prisoners from their jails in exchange for the hostages held by them in Gaza. Hostages have very high political currency and had been a major reason for negotiations in the past.
Since its October 7 attack, the Palestinian Hamas group had kidnapped over 200 civilians from Israeli border towns and dragged them across the Gazan border. These include several foreigners and dual citizenship holders.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar recently said they are ready for an "immediate" prisoner swap with Israel.
"We are ready to conduct an immediate prisoner exchange deal that includes the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for all prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance," he said in a statement.
In 2011, Israel swapped 1,027 Palestinian prisoners to get a soldier released.
This time, with so many hostages held by Hamas in a war zone, Israel faces one of the most complex hostage situations ever.
Negotiations seem to have worked in favour of Israel so far with the intervention of US and Qatar, and four hostages have been released.
Hostages for ceasefire
Israel believes in not leaving anyone behind, dead or alive. Hamas has offered the release of all hostages in exchange of a ceasefire, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who has already declared a war against Hamas - may not give any reprieve.
Safety of hostages
For any negotiations to proceed, Hamas will have to ensure the safety of the hostages. Though Hamas and its splinter groups have claimed death of hostages in aerial attacks by Israel, there has been no such confirmation by Israel or any other country who have their citizens being held as captive.
Israeli efforts to free the hostages militarily could lead to their deaths.
How long will hostages be held back?
Hamas may agree to release some women, children and elderly people in order to retain the support it has received from some quarters. But Hamas also has a track record for holding hostages for long periods - notably Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was held captive for five years before being eventually released in return for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
