As reported earlier, Hamas has published the names of the Israeli hostages set to be released on Shabbos, which include female IDF soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag. The list was made public at 5 p.m., but the IDF had requested that Israeli media hold off on publishing it until the families had been informed.
As part of the agreement, Hamas is required to release all female civilian hostages before moving on to female soldiers, then elderly hostages, and finally those who are seriously ill.
On Wednesday, Israel informed Hamas that it expects the release of hostage Arbel Yehud as part of this weekend’s release of four hostages. Yehud is a civilian held by Gaza terrorists and, as a female civilian, should be in the next group to be freed. However, there are concerns in Israel, as Yehud is believed to be held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, not Hamas, which could delay her release.
Israel is considering several potential responses to Hamas’s actions. It could back out of its plan to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza tomorrow, or it might alter or limit the list of Palestinian prisoners it is meant to release in exchange for the four hostages.
Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu held discussions with his security chief earlier this evening to decide the next steps. While no final decision has been made, Netanyahu has chosen to proceed with the list provided by Hamas, rather than abandoning the deal altogether.
Under the terms of the agreement, Israel is to release 30 Palestinian prisoners for each female civilian hostage, and 50 prisoners for each female IDF soldier. Some of the prisoners to be freed in exchange for female soldiers are serving life sentences for murder and other terrorist acts.
{Matzav.com}