Hamas-Israel Hostage Exchange and Temporary Truce To Begin Friday
Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook announced Wednesday afternoon on Telegram that the hostage exchange deal and associated four-day humanitarian truce was set to begin at 10 am on Thursday. However, a delay was reported by Israeli National Security Council chairman Tzachi Hanegbi who stated that the first hostages will not be released until Friday.
David Barnea, chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, has reportedly arrived in Qatar to provide additional support as the deal is slated to take effect.
The deal, which represents the culmination of nearly seven weeks of diplomatic negotiations involving the US, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and Hamas, is centered on the exchange of 50 hostages held by Hamas for 150 Palestinian prisoners chosen from a list of 300 possible names.
The Palestinian prisoners eligible for release are primarily women and male juveniles between the ages of 16 and 18. According to reports in Hebrew media, 30 of the hostages set to be released are children and 20 are women.
The Israeli government released the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released to the Israeli public and set a 24-hour timeframe for citizens to appeal.
US President Joe Biden praised the deal and claimed that it is set to “bring home additional American hostages.”
A senior White House official familiar with the deal’s contents told the Washington Post that two American women and a 3-year-old child whose parents were killed by Hamas on Oct. 7 are among those slated for release in the exchange.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz also reported that, as part of the deal, the International Committee of the Red Cross will have access to all remaining hostages in order to provide medical treatment to those who need it.
