The release of a large number of hostages negotiated between Israel and the radical Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas will not take place “before Friday”, Israel’s national security adviser said. Negotiations are still ongoing, Tzachi Hanegbi explained on Wednesday evening. The start of the ceasefire should also be postponed until Friday.
On Wednesday evening, Israel’s Cabinet approved an agreement with Hamas that included the release of at least 50 hostages abducted by Hamas to the Gaza Strip during a four-day ceasefire and, on the other hand, the release of 150 Palestinian women and minors from Gaza. Israeli prisons offer.
Israeli media had reported that the ceasefire would come into effect on Thursday and that a first group of hostages would be released on the same day. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen had also hoped to receive the first hostages on Thursday.
More time to “minimize risks”
Now the start of the several-day ceasefire and thus the first release of hostages has been postponed to Friday, CNN reports. It took more time to negotiate the final details to “minimize the risk of something going wrong,” CNN quoted a US official as saying. The decision to wait an extra day was taken by Israel, Qatar and Egypt. Both countries have played an important mediating role in the negotiations.
During a phone call, US President Joe Biden assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would work towards the release of all hostages. “The two leaders discussed the pause in fighting, which will allow urgently needed humanitarian assistance to be delivered to the Gaza Strip,” the White House said.
Egypt and Qatar mediated
Biden also spoke by telephone on Wednesday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. In the conversation with al-Sisi, Biden reiterated that the US “will not, under any circumstances, allow the forcible relocation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, the occupation of the Gaza Strip, or the redrawing of the borders of the Gaza Strip. ”
Gaza should also not remain a haven for Hamas, Biden continued in the telephone conversation. According to the White House, Biden also emphasized his “commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Source: Krone
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