Hamas says it will only release American-Israeli hostage if ceasefire deal is implemented

CAIRO (AP) — Hamas said Saturday it will only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements their ceasefire agreement, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track.

Israeli airstrikes meanwhile killed nine people in the Gaza Strip who the military identified as militants, allegations denied by a U.K.-based aid group that said eight of its workers were killed.

A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire's second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel also would need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt. Israel has said it won't pull out from the corridor, citing the need to combat weapons smuggling.

Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.

Edan Alexander, 21, who grew up in New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. He is the last living U.S. citizen held in Gaza. Hamas still has 59 hostages, 35 believed to be dead.

Speaking at a protest camp set up last week outside Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, relatives of hostages said Netanyahu was “violating the agreement he signed and abandoning the hostages in Gaza.”

“You want to sacrifice our children for the pleasures of power,” said Itzik Horn, father of hostage Eitan and freed hostage Iair.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Saturday told negotiators to prepare for the continuation of talks regarding the release of hostages, his office said.

Two Israeli airstrikes in the northern town of Beit Lahiya near the border killed at least nine people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Center, a local watchdog, said the dead included three Palestinian journalists who were documenting aid distribution. Local health official Fares Awad identified one as Mahmoud Islim, who was operating a drone.

The Israeli military said it struck two people operating a drone that it said posed a threat to soldiers in the area. It said it launched another strike at a group of people who came to collect the drone equipment, identifying all those targeted as militants.

The army later released the names of six people it said were militants killed in the strikes, including one accused of taking part in the Oct. 7 attack and another who it said had been released as part of the ceasefire. The military said two others, including Islim, were militants posing as journalists.

The UK-based Al Khair Foundation said that eight of its workers were killed in the strikes. It denied the Israeli military’s allegations that those killed were militants or had connections to Hamas.

Hamas in a statement called the attack a “serious escalation” showing Israel’s attempts to “sabotage any opportunity” to implement the ceasefire agreement.

Also Saturday, Israel's military said it removed a platoon of soldiers from Gaza who were seen in a video on social media opening fire during a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Purim. The video shows soldiers shooting, apparently randomly, while another performs the customary reading of the Book of Esther. The military said the soldiers “will face disciplinary measures.”

No major fighting has occurred in Gaza since the ceasefire took hold on Jan. 19, but Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military said had entered unauthorized areas, engaged in militant activities or otherwise violated the truce.

The United States said it presented on Wednesday a proposal to extend the ceasefire a few weeks as the sides negotiate a permanent truce. It said Hamas was claiming flexibility in public while privately making “entirely impractical” demands.

Talks continued in Egypt, which along with Qatar has served as mediators with Hamas in the indirect talks with Israel.

Israel and Hamas were to begin negotiations on the ceasefire's second phase in early February, but only preparatory talks have been held. In Phase Two, Hamas would release all remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting truce.

The first phase saw the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces pulled back to a buffer zone along Gaza’s border and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.

After the first phase ended early this month, Israel said it had agreed to a new U.S. proposal in which Hamas would release half the remaining hostages in return for a vague commitment to negotiate a lasting ceasefire. Hamas rejected that offer.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement that he held in-depth discussions with the negotiating team and security officials on Saturday evening. Afterward, he told the negotiating team to prepare for continued talks as per the mediator's response to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's proposal, the statement said.

For two weeks, Israel has barred the delivery of food, fuel and other supplies to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians, and cut electricity to the territory a week ago, to pressure Hamas to accept the new proposal.

The southern city of Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border, said it could no longer provide fuel needed to pump water from dozens of wells.

Ahmed al-Sufi, head of the municipality, said fuel shortages caused by the Israeli siege have forced it to “suspend essential services, threatening the lives of thousands.”

The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced most of the population and left nearly everyone dependent on international aid.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. Most have been released in deals, while Israel rescued eight living hostages and recovered the bodies of dozens more.

Israel's military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Associated Press writer Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

People take part in a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo//Oded Balilty)

People take part in a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo//Oded Balilty)

People take part in a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo//Oded Balilty)

A man serves a juice as Palestinians prepare for Iftar, the fast-breaking meal during Ramadan in a street of the war-devastated Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Traditional sweets are served at the tables as residents prepare for Iftar, the fast-breaking meal, during Ramadan in the war-devastated Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Surrounded by destroyed homes and buildings, Palestinians gather for iftar, the fast-breaking meal during Ramadan in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Surrounded by destroyed homes and buildings, Palestinians gather for iftar, the fast-breaking meal during Ramadan in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn over the bodies of their relatives killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn over the bodies of their relatives killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn over the bodies of their relatives killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

People take part in a pro-Palestine march in central London, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)

Displaced Palestinians burn waste in central Gaza Strip on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a double jeopardy appeal filed by Karen Read, who's on trial for the second time on charges she killed her Boston police officer boyfriend in 2022.

A mistrial was declared last year after jurors said they were at an impasse. Read’s defense now says that putting her on trial again for two of the charges is an unlawful case of double jeopardy. They told the Supreme Court that the jury at her first trial reached a unanimous but unannounced verdict acquitting her, so a second trial on those charges should be barred as double jeopardy.

By rejecting her petition, the justices have effectively cleared the way for her trial to continue. The court didn’t ask the prosecution to respond to the appeal, a sign the justices did not think there was a difficult legal issue at stake.

Prosecutors say Read backed her SUV into John O’Keefe, 46, after dropping him off at a party hosted by a fellow police officer and left him to die in the snow. Defense attorneys say she was a victim of a conspiracy involving the police and they plan, as they did in the first trial, to offer evidence pointing to the real killer. The case has attracted considerable interest in Massachusetts and beyond.

Read, 45, has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene.

The second trial, which began opening statements and witness testimony April 22, has thus far looked similar to the first. It's being held in the same courthouse before the same judge, and dozens of Read’s passionate supporters are again rallying outside. The primary defense lawyers and many of the nearly 200 witnesses will also be the same.

The trial’s second week began with digital forensics specialist Ian Whiffin testifying about data he analyzed from multiple cell phones connected to the case.

Whiffin is a former law enforcement officer who went on to work in mobile forensics in the private sector. He testified Monday about an internet search made by Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read the morning they found O'Keefe in the snow.

McCabe made a much-discussed web search about how long it takes to die in the cold. Read's lawyers have said the search happened hours before O'Keefe was discovered, which could implicate her rather than Read. McCabe has said she made the search later at Read's insistence after they found O'Keefe.

Whiffin said Monday the web search was not made at 2:27 a.m., before O'Keefe's body was found, like the defense has alleged. He also testified that location data on O'Keefe's phone was consistent with the device being near a flagpole on the lawn of the home from 12:32 a.m. onward. A text McCabe sent at that time telling O'Keefe where to park was recorded as having been read, but there was no further activity after that.

Whiffin also analyzed the battery temperature of O'Keefe's phone. He said it dropped from 72 degrees at 12:37 a.m. to 37 degrees at 6:14 a.m.

Read's defense has suggested O'Keefe was killed inside the home.

On Friday, jurors traveled to Canton, where O'Keefe was found outside the home of Brian Albert on Jan. 29, 2022. Read's SUV was also parked there for the viewing.

Prosecutor Hank Brennan told jurors to view the scene from different vantage points and reminded them that it would have looked different at night, during a snowstorm. Defense attorney David Yannetti asked jurors to consider the distance between the home's windows and doors and the front lawn. Jurors also should take a good look at Read's vehicle, he said.

“Size it up,” he said. “Take it in.”

Dr. Garrey Faller, former lab director at Good Samaritan Medical Center, testified Friday that Read's blood alcohol content was 93 milligrams per deciliter, or 0.093%, at 9 a.m. the day O'Keefe was found dead. The legal BAC limit in Massachusetts for driving is 0.08%.

In cross-examining Faller, Read's attorney suggested that the lab wasn't using the most reliable type of test or that the results could have been skewed by Read's medical conditions — anemia and multiple sclerosis.

“Our methodology is just as good,” he said.

That testimony came a day after prosecutors showed clips from interviews in which Read described pouring extra shots of alcohol into cocktails she deemed too weak but denying that she was driving recklessly the night O'Keefe died.

O’Keefe’s close friend, Michael Camerano, testified Thursday about the relationship between O’Keefe and Read and their interactions the night he died. He said the couple greeted each other with affection at a Canton bar, and that O’Keefe put his arm around Read and kissed her.

“He certainly never told you or even suggested that he was thinking about or planning to break up with Karen, right?” defense attorney David Yannetti asked.

“No,” Camerano said.

“And during the month before John’s passing, that January of 2022, you observed their relationship in your presence to be normal, caring, and affectionate, right?” Yannetti asked.

“Yes,” Camerano said.

The defense's approach has been to portray the investigation into O’Keefe’s death as shoddy and undermined by the close relationship investigators had with the police officers and other law enforcement agents who were at the house party.

Among the key witnesses they will call is former State Trooper Michael Proctor, who led the investigation but has since been fired after a disciplinary board found he sent crude and sexist texts about Read to his family and colleagues. He is also on the prosecution's witness list.

Proctor’s testimony was a key moment during the first trial, when the defense suggested his texts about Read and the case showed he was biased and had singled her out early in the investigation, ignoring other potential suspects.

Karen Read listens to testimony during her trial, Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Mass. State Police detective Nicholas Guarino reviews cellular phone logs while testifying during the Karen Read trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Karen Read, center, speaks with defense team during her trial, Friday, April 25, 2025, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. (Josh Reynolds /New York Post via AP, Pool)

Dr. Garrey Faller reviews the medical record of defendant Karen Read as he testified during her trial, Friday, April 25, 2025, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. (Josh Reynolds/New York Post via AP, Pool)

John O'Keefe's mother Peggy recounts hearing about her sons death during the Karen Read trial in Norfolk Superior Court at Dedham, Mass., on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Ian Wiffin, a digital intelligence expert, with Celebrite, testifies under direct examination by special prosecutor Hank Brennan during Karen Read's murder retrial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday April 28, 2025. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)

Special prosecutor Hank Brennan questions Ian Wiffin, a digital intelligence expert with Celebrite, during Karen Read's murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court, in front of Judge Beverly J. Cannone, in Dedham, Mass.,Monday April 28, 2025. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)

An image of Karen Read's SUV with a damaged taillight which was put into evidence is shown during the Karen Read trial in Norfolk Superior Court at Dedham, Mass., on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

A video from a "Ring" camera at John O'Keefe's home, Karen Read is seen arriving in her SUV to look for O'Keefe with Kerry Roberts and Jennifer McCabe is shown during Read's trial in Norfolk Superior Court at Dedham, Mass., on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Judge Beverly J. Cannone greets jurors as the murder retrial of Karen Read continues, in Norfolk Superior Court, Dedham, Mass., Monday April 28, 2025. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)

Karen Read listens to the testimony of Cellebrite digital intelligence expert Ian Wiffin, during her murder retrial, in Norfolk Superior Court, in front of Judge Beverly J. Cannone, in Dedham, Mass., Monday April 28, 2025. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)