Members of the Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades prepare to hand over the bodies of the Bibas family and Oded Lifshitz under a prisoner-hostage swap agreement in Khan Younis, Gaza, on February 20.

While there is hope in Gaza and Israel with negotiators working toward a ceasefire and hostage deal, “the devil is in the details,” said Jerusalem Post senior columnist Yaakov Katz.

Under the proposal, Hamas will free 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, and Israel will release 250 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences, as well as 1,700 Palestinians detained since the start of the war.

Katz pointed out just one way in which efforts could “go sideways.”

“What if Hamas comes up today in those talks in Sharm-el-Sheikh and says ‘Listen, we can only find 40 (hostages), we can’t find the remaining eight?’” he asked CNN’s Ben Hunte.

“What does Israel do? Does it walk away from the table? And what does Donald Trump do? Does he continue to put the pressure on Israel to stay in those talks, to accept the deal, even if it does not include all 48?”

Katz also highlighted uncertainties in the current ceasefire plan.

“What exactly does it mean about Hamas disarming? What does it mean about Hamas not being in a new government? What exactly is the Israeli withdrawal? How long will it take?”