A proposal that could have brought every remaining civilian hostage home in one move has reportedly been rejected by Israel. According to accounts building through Tuesday, Hamas offered to release all civilians still held since the October 7, 2023 attacks, when roughly 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 were taken into Gaza. Israeli negotiators are said to have declined the terms, though neither government has confirmed the details publicly. The reports, first amplified by Al Jazeera, have not been independently verified by all parties, and the exact conditions attached to the offer remain unclear.

Mediators from Qatar and Egypt have spent months shuttling between the two sides, trying to separate the question of hostages from the far harder issue of ending the war altogether. Families of hostages in Tel Aviv's so-called "Hostages Square" said they had not been formally briefed, leaving many to learn of the reported rejection through the same news channels as everyone else. For families watching from Buenos Aires to Bangkok — among the many nationalities represented among the hostages — the stakes could not be more personal. Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod remains in Gaza, told reporters that every delay carries a human cost that cannot be measured in diplomatic language.

His words captured a frustration shared widely among relatives who feel sidelined by negotiations conducted far from their reach. Analysts in Washington and Cairo caution that rejecting a full-release offer, if confirmed, could reshape perceptions of who is prolonging the war. Israel has previously insisted that any hostage deal be tied to guarantees on Hamas's disarmament, while Hamas has resisted terms it sees as unconditional surrender.