Barghouti, Terrorists Involved in Oct. 7 Massacre Will Not Be Released, Israeli Source Says By The Media Line Staff An Israeli official said early Thursday that terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre will not be included in the upcoming agreement with Hamas and that senior prisoner Marwan Barghouti will remain behind bars, Ynet […]
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The Media Line: Barghouti, Terrorists Involved in Oct. 7 Massacre Will Not Be Released, Israeli Source Says
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Barghouti, Terrorists Involved in Oct. 7 Massacre Will Not Be Released, Israeli Source Says
By The Media Line Staff
An Israeli official said early Thursday that terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre will not be included in the upcoming agreement with Hamas and that senior prisoner Marwan Barghouti will remain behind bars, Ynet reports.
“The deal will not include the release of Nukhba terrorists who took part in the massacre on October 7,” the source stated. “The four ‘aces’ demanded by Hamas, including Marwan Barghouti, will not be freed.”
According to the official, the government is expected to convene later today to approve the agreement. Once authorized, the IDF will begin its withdrawal within 24 hours to the designated “yellow line,” including additional areas agreed upon during negotiations. Under the arrangement, Hamas is expected to release all hostages within 72 hours in a single phase, without public ceremonies.
Barghouti is among four high-profile prisoners Hamas has long sought to include in any exchange deal, along with Ahmad Sa’adat, Ibrahim Hamed, and Abbas al-Sayed. All are serving multiple life sentences for directing deadly terror attacks against Israeli civilians.
Sa’adat, the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was convicted of orchestrating the 2001 assassination of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi. Hamed, Hamas’ former West Bank operations commander, received 54 life sentences for bombings that killed 46 people during the Second Intifada. Al-Sayed, from Tulkarm, was found guilty of planning the 2002 Passover bombing at Netanya’s Park Hotel that left 30 dead and over 160 wounded.
Hamas has reportedly linked its latest demands to the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan and requested that Israel hand over the bodies of the Sinwar brothers, according to Arab mediators cited by the Wall Street Journal. Israeli officials have rejected the request.
The agreement, once finalized, is expected to initiate the first stage of Trump’s postwar framework for Gaza, combining security arrangements with the release of hostages and a partial military withdrawal.