Israeli-Gaza truce and hostage release delayed until Friday

Israel said a four-day Gaza truce and hostage release will not start until at least Friday, stalling a breakthrough deal to pause the war with Hamas.

A Palestinian official with knowledge of the negotiation process said the delay stemmed from “last-minute” details over which hostages would be released and how.

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Israel and Hamas, which have been at war since October 7, had announced a deal on Wednesday allowing at least 50 hostages and scores of Palestinian prisoners to be freed, during a four-day truce.

The deal, facilitated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, is to take effect in stages that can be extended and broadened. It is also intended to provide aid to Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.

Here is what we know so far:

Release on hold at least one day

Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi indicated the release of at least 50 Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas would still take place, but would not happen on Thursday as expected.

“The contacts on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly,” he said.

“The start of the release will take place according to the original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday.”

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Another Israeli official said a temporary halt in fighting would also not begin on Thursday.

The Palestinian official, who asked to remain anonymous, said the truce had been put back over “the names of the Israeli hostages and the modalities of their release”.

Talks continuing

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said Thursday talks were “continuing and progressing positively”.

The timing of the pause “will be announced within the next few hours”, he said.

Two-stage release

Israel has said the exchange would take place in two phases.

In a first step, 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are set to be released during the four-day pause.

If successful, a second phase could see 150 more Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for another 50 hostages during an extended truce, Israel’s government said.

While hostages are moved, Israeli reconnaissance of Gaza would be put on temporary hold, Ansari said.

Who will be freed?

An estimated 240 hostages were abducted during the unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas that Israel says killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel.

Under the agreement, Hamas says 50 women and children held in Gaza would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

A senior US official said three Americans, including three-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, were among them.

Qatar said no military prisoners were among those to be released.

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Israel published the names of 300 Palestinian detainees who could be freed — mostly teenage boys.

Of those on the list, 49 are identified as Hamas members, 60 as belonging to Fatah, the party which leads the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and 17 as being affiliated with the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Aid ‘surge’ planned

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she had ordered aid deliveries to Gaza to be stepped up following the announcement of the pause.

“The European Commission will do its utmost to use this pause for a humanitarian surge to Gaza,” she said.

Qatar said the deal would include “the entry of a larger number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid, including fuel designated for humanitarian needs”.

Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said at least 200-300 aid trucks would enter, including eight carrying fuel and gas.

Israel says war not over

Although Qatari mediators held out hope the deal could lead to a more durable ceasefire, Israeli officials stressed they intended to resume their campaign to eliminate Hamas as soon as the hostage releases are over.

Israel pledged to “continue the war in order to return home all of the hostages, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza”.

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Ahead of the cabinet meeting which approved the deal, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said he had won assurances it would not spell the end of the war.

“Immediately after we have exhausted this phase” he said, security operations would “continue in full force”.

© Agence France-Presse