The families of hostages taken by Hamas have expressed concerns for their loved ones as a ceasefire in Gaza has been delayed and as Israel continues to launch assaults on the war-torn region on Thursday.
The ceasefire agreement would have seen the Hamas militant group freeing dozens of Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of roughly 150 Palestinian prisoners. However, it was later revealed to be delayed at least until Friday.
Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Delayed
There are about 10 US citizens who remain unaccounted for following the Hamas militant group's attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Officials believe that some of them were taken as hostages by the group, including three-year-old Abigail Mor Edan.
The Qatari government, which helped broker the hostage deal between the two sides, said that the pause in fighting would start on Friday at 7:00 a.m. local time. Officials added that the first batch of 13 hostages are expected to be released at 4:00 p.m., all of whom are women and children, as per CBS News.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office also confirmed that it had received a preliminary list of names. Under the Qatar-brokered deal this week, at least 50 hostages will be released. In exchange, the Israeli government would release at least 150 Palestinian prisoners and agree to a four-day ceasefire.
Hundreds of trucks carrying desperately needed aid, including cooking oil and fuel, would cross into the Gaza Strip. The Hamas militant group is incentivized to release more of the 236 hostages that were taken in its initial attack.
For every 10 hostages that are freed, Israel would extend the temporary ceasefire by an additional day. More Palestinian prisoners would also be freed if the deal is extended, at a ratio of three prisoners for every hostage.
Prior to the ceasefire, Israel had ramped up its attacks across Gaza, particularly in the northern parts of the region. Israeli forces shot and killed 12-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim Fuad Edely in the town of Beita near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, according to Aljazeera.
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Release of the First Batch of Hostages
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the nation's military would continue fighting against Hamas for at least two months after the end of the ceasefire. His remarks came as he addressed troops of the Israeli navy special operations unit on Thursday.
He told them to "organize, get ready, investigate, resupply arms, and get ready to continue" during the ceasefire. Gallant added that they needed to complete the victory and create the impetus for the next groups of hostages.
The situation comes as Israel arrested the director of Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, saying that it served as a Hamas command center. The group and hospital officials have denied these allegations.
Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari was not able to provide details on exactly who the first batch of hostages would be. He was also unable to say anything about the route they could take due to safety reasons, said CNN.
