The deal announced by Israel and Hamas yesterday on the release of hostages has hit a stumbling block within 24 hours and now won’t begin until Friday, at the earliest.
Reports have been very unclear about the cause of this delay, though one Palestinian official said questions remained over “the names of the Israeli hostages and the modalities of their release.”
A Qatari foreign ministry spokesman added that talks are “continuing and progressing positively.” But these words are unlikely to soothe the worries of families who, after weeks of official talks, are none the wiser about when their loved ones will return home.
Under the deal, explained here, Hamas will free at least 50 of the 240 mostly Israeli hostages taken during the October 7th terror attacks, in return for the release of at least 150 Palestinian prisoners by Israeli authorities. This is set to take place during a four-day pause from fighting, which will also allow up to 300 trucks of aid to enter Gaza.
This staggered release was set to begin today. But Israeli national security advisor Tzachi Hanegbi said in the early hours of Thursday morning that while the deal remains on track, it will not start on schedule:
The contacts on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly. The start of the release will take place according to the original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday.
In a separate statement by IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration made it quite clear that this deal, whenever it may begin, does not signal the beginning of the end of the war:
This is a war that we did not start and we did not seek. An operational pause for [the] release of hostages does not change [this]. Israel is still at war with Hamas and we are committed [to] achieving our goals: to defeat Hamas and bring all our hostages home.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant added that “immediately after we have exhausted this phase,” operations will “continue in full force.”
New timings for the hostage deal are expected to be unveiled on Thursday.
