The Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, has announced a four-day ceasefire with Israel and has reached an agreement for the release of prisoners. However, there are some challenges in implementing this in reality. As a result, although Hamas declared on Thursday that a ceasefire would be effective from 10 a.m. local time, the Israeli National Security Council Chairman, Yaakov Amidror, stated that the release of prisoners would not take place before Friday.
Senior Hamas official, Musa al-Marzuq, had announced on Thursday that the ceasefire would be operational from 10 a.m. However, shortly after his announcement, a senior Israeli official chose not to disclose their identity, confirming the matter to journalists.
Nevertheless, Amidror stated in a statement, “Progress is being made in discussions on the release of our prisoners.”
He added, “According to the main agreement between the parties, the release will take place, but it will not happen before Friday.”
An official Israeli source has further clarified that the list of who Israel is releasing has not been published to ensure that false hopes are not created among the families. It is important to note that for verification and to avoid the creation of false hopes among family members, Israel has not published the list of those who will be released.
The source has also revealed that the two officials named in the media, David Barnea, the head of Israel’s intelligence agency, and General Nitzan Alon of the Israeli Defense Forces, are part of the average. Notably, these two officials are currently in Qatar to finalize the details of the agreement.
It is noteworthy that the sides have not yet signed the agreement, which has led to delays in the release of the prisoners. The ceasefire, as per the agreement between Hamas and Israel, is expected to last for four days. Hamas will release around 50 prisoners, while Israel will release 150 to 300 Palestinians. Additionally, Israel will allow the entry of humanitarian aid, including fuel, into Gaza without any hindrance.
