Here on the seventh day of the hostage-ceasefire agreement with Hamas, Israel has not yet received any information about the remaining 33 hostages that were supposed to be released in the first phase of the deal, which was expected to be completed by the end of today.
So far, seven hostages have been freed as part of the agreement, in exchange for roughly 300 Palestinian security prisoners.
Under the terms of the deal, Hamas was supposed to notify Israel by today regarding the status of the remaining 26 hostages on the list. These hostages, who are categorized as “humanitarian” cases, include women, children, the elderly, and those with medical conditions.
Senior Israeli officials, speaking to Hebrew media, have confirmed that they have not received the promised update from Hamas. This lack of communication is being viewed as a breach of the agreement.
Earlier today, Israel announced it would delay allowing displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, citing Hamas’s failure to free female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud as a violation of the ceasefire-hostage deal.
Hamas had freed four female soldiers — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag — who had been held for 477 days, despite the agreement stipulating that all living civilian women be released before soldiers.
Unconfirmed reports have suggested that Israel has demanded the release of the living among the 33 hostages first, with the return of the bodies to follow later.
{Matzav.com Israel}