Senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya said in a November 8, 2021 interview on Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) that Hamas holds four Israelis, and that Hamas would be willing to trade each of them for the release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. 

He explained that this is the “natural threshold” for prisoner swaps that was established with the 2011 release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. 

He said: “If the occupation pays the price, we are ready to sign [a deal] tomorrow morning. Otherwise, they will not see the light of day.” 

Al-Hayya confirmed that at least two of the Israeli captives are soldiers, and declined to state whether the four Israelis are alive or not. 

Later in the interview, Al-Hayya said that Hamas is proud and open about its relationship with Iran, which he said supports Hamas militarily, politically, materially, and otherwise. 

Referring to the Iranians as “brothers,” he said that Hamas does not concern itself with Iran’s affairs in Iraq or elsewhere.