The armed wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, announced the postponement of the second round of scheduled hostage releases on Saturday. The delay is contingent on Israel committing to allowing aid trucks to enter northern Gaza, as specified by Hamas. The statement from al-Qassam Brigades warned that the release of Palestinian prisoners would be delayed if Israel did not adhere to the agreed-upon terms.
While there was no immediate response from Israel, an earlier statement from an Israeli military spokesperson to France’s BFM television indicated that, barring last-minute changes, 13 Israeli hostages were expected to be freed, with 39 Palestinian prisoners released in return.
The truce deal, mediated by Qatar, outlines the exchange of a total of 50 hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners convicted on weapon charges and violent offenses over four days. The first exchange on Friday saw the release of 13 Israeli women and children, captured by Hamas fighters in a killing spree in southern Israel on Oct. 7, along with 24 jailed Palestinian women and 15 teenagers from Israeli jails.
The setback on Saturday occurred shortly after Egypt, which controls the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza, announced receiving “positive signals” from all parties about a possible extension of the truce deal. Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service, stated that extensive talks were ongoing to reach an agreement, aiming for the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israel has expressed that the ceasefire could be extended if Hamas continues to release hostages at a rate of at least 10 per day. A Palestinian source suggested that up to 100 hostages could be released. Both Israel and Hamas have indicated that hostilities could resume once the truce concludes, although U.S. President Joe Biden expressed on Friday that there was a real chance of extending the truce.
