The armed wing of Hamas said on Saturday it was delaying the handover of a second group of hostages due to be released under a truce deal until Israel “adheres to the terms of the agreement”.
The entry of humanitarian aid to the north of the Gaza Strip and the selection criteria for the liberation of prisoners were the issues in question, the al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.
Israel on Saturday denied that it had violated the truce agreement and vowed to continue the war to eliminate Hamas when the pause in fighting ends.
“We will return immediately at the end of the ceasefire to attack Gaza,” Israeli chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said. “We will also do this in order to dismantle Hamas, also to create a great deal of pressure to return as quickly as possible and as many abductees as possible, every last one of them,” he added.
Earlier an Israeli military spokesperson had told France’s BFM television station that, barring last minute changes, 13 Israeli hostages were expected to be freed. He said 39 Palestinian prisoners would be released in return.
Under the truce deal between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, a total of 50 hostages are to be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners, some of them convicted on weapon charges and violent offences, over four days.
In the first exchange on Friday, 13 Israeli women and children – out of around 240 hostages captured by Hamas fighters in southern Israel on October 7 – were released.
Twenty-four jailed Palestinian women and 15 teenagers were released from Israeli jails.
Families of hostages not slated for release from Gaza face enduring nightmare
Families of hostages not slated for release from Gaza face enduring nightmare
Saturday’s setback came just hours after Egypt, which controls the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza through which vital aid supplies have resumed, said it had received “positive signals” from all parties over a possible extension of that deal.
Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS), said in a statement that Cairo was holding extensive talks with all parties to reach an agreement which would mean “the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails”.
Israel has said the ceasefire could be extended if Hamas continues to release hostages at a rate of at least 10 per day. A Palestinian source has said up to 100 hostages could go free.
Israel and Hamas have said hostilities would resume as soon as the truce ends, although US President Joe Biden said on Friday there was a real chance of extending the truce.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters
