Hostage Exchange Deal: Qassam to Delay Captives’ Release
The Qassam Brigades, Hamas‘ military wing, announced a delay in releasing the second batch of Israeli hostages. This decision stems from Israel’s alleged failure to adhere to the terms of the recent hostage exchange deal.
The deal, mediated by Qatar, was to span four days, starting last Friday.
Reasons for Delay
Hamas attributes the delay to Israel not fulfilling specific agreement terms. These include not allowing relief trucks into northern Gaza and not adhering to agreed prisoner release standards.
Humanitarian Aid & Exchange Terms
Humanitarian aid entry into northern Gaza is crucial for Hamas, especially that the area has been under strict Israeli blockade since the war’s start.
The hostage exchange deal, including a humanitarian truce, requires Israel to release three Palestinian prisoners (including children and women) for every Israeli hostage.
The Israeli Walla website quoted an informed source as saying that Hamas says that according to the agreement, Israel should have released the Palestinian prisoners according to the length of their imprisonment.
Therefore, this means that those who served a longer period would be released first.
“But in the first wave of prisoner releases on Friday, this was not the case,” the source said.
The location for the handover of the new prisoner group remains unknown, adding to the uncertainty.
Qatar’s Mediation Efforts
Sources from Hamas said that Qatar is exerting all efforts to prevent the agreement from collapsing.
Thus, it has been urging Israel to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, fuel and gas into Gaza.
Moreover, a Qatari delegation’s visit to Israel aims to extend the truce and ensure smooth prisoner exchanges.
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