Hostages to be released on Friday at the earliest
The deal between Israel's government and Hamas is not yet a done deal. Contrary to expectations, no hostages will be released today in return for a ceasefire. According to Israel, negotiations are still ongoing and the first hostages could be released tomorrow.
The release of hostages negotiated between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas and the ceasefire linked to it will probably not begin in the next few hours after all. Negotiations on the release of hostages are continuing, explained security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. They would "begin in accordance with the original agreement between the two sides and not before Friday".
The Israeli cabinet had voted in favor of the agreement early Wednesday morning, but there was no date for the start confirmed by either side. "Negotiations on the release of our prisoners are progressing and will continue steadily," said Hanegbi. Egyptian security sources had originally stated that the mediators were aiming for a start on Thursday morning, while Hamas had declared that the ceasefire would begin at 10 am. The Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported, citing an Israeli representative, that the agreement had been delayed by 24 hours because it had not been signed by Hamas and the mediator Qatar. The "Jerusalem Post" from Israel spoke of a "last-minute complication".
The deal with Hamas stipulates that the terrorist organization will release at least 50 women and children abducted in the Gaza Strip during an initial four-day ceasefire. In return, Israel agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and minors from Israeli prisons.
Aid organizations consider ceasefire insufficient
Aid organizations criticize the agreed ceasefire as insufficient and demand more time to deliver vital aid supplies to the area. The agreed ceasefire is "not enough and certainly not enough in terms of human rights", said Paul O'Brien from Amnesty International during a video conference with other organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and Save the Children. "We cannot provide food for two million people in four days," criticized Danila Zizi from Handicap International. The ceasefire was only "a drop in the ocean".
Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour called for a "definitive end" to the war between Israel and Hamas. The agreed ceasefire should not just be a pause "before the massacre starts all over again", he told the UN Security Council, adding that "hundreds of Palestinian children" remained alive thanks to the ceasefire.
In Israel, on the other hand, there are fears that Hamas could use the ceasefire to regroup and strike all the harder when the war resumes. The far-right Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, therefore also spoke out vehemently against the agreement, which he described as a "disaster".
Biden talks with Qatar and Egypt
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with the leaders of Qatar, Israel and Egypt, according to the White House. All three talks were about "the agreement to release the hostages (...) and the latest developments in the region". Biden and the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, "pledged to remain in close contact to ensure that the agreement is fully implemented", the White House said. The Gulf state of Qatar played a key role as mediator in the negotiations over the release of the hostages.
In his conversation with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US President assured "that he will continue to work for the release of all remaining hostages". He also emphasized the importance of peace "on the Lebanese border and in the West Bank", the White House said. Biden emphasized to Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that the USA would "under no circumstances allow the forced displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank" or "the redrawing of the borders of the Gaza Strip". He spoke out in favour of a Palestinian state and emphasized that the Gaza Strip "must not remain a haven for Hamas".
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which includes the release of hostages captives, might not commence in the immediate future as negotiations continue. According to security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, the release of prisoners will commence in line with the initial agreement, but not before Friday.
Despite the Israeli cabinet's approval of the agreement, Hamas and the mediator Qatar have yet to sign it, resulting in a delay of 24 hours, as reported by the Israeli public broadcaster Kan. Hamas might use the ceasefire period to regroup, causing concern among some Israeli officials, as pointed out by far-right Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Source: www.ntv.de
