About 240 hostages were taken on October 7 when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel. (Photo: Bloomberg)
Hamas will delay the release of the second group of hostages until Israel follows the terms of their agreement regarding aid trucks in northern Gaza and certain “agreed standards for the release of prisoners,” the group said on Saturday.
Earlier, a Hamas official shared a 14-point list of concerns, including the alleged fatal shootings of two Gaza residents and reconnaissance planes flying over southern Gaza.
Israel had expected the last group of hostages to be released in the evening, as part of a four-day temporary ceasefire, with around 13 prisoners released daily.
Israel denied having violated the agreement, the BBC reported, citing unnamed sources.
Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the US and the European Union, released 13 Israelis and several dual nationals on Friday, all of whom were women and minors. In turn, Israel released 39 prisoners, all of whom were women and minors. In a side deal, Hamas also released ten Thais and one Filipino citizen.
About 240 hostages were taken on October 7 when Hamas fighters from Gaza attacked southern Israeli communities and army bases. Israel said Hamas killed 1,200 people and took the hostages hostage.
Israel responded by bombing the Gaza Strip, a densely packed enclave with a population of about 2.3 million. At the end of October, the country also launched a ground offensive on the northern part of Gaza. Nearly 15,000 people have been killed in the enclave since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
First print: November 25, 2023 | 11:41 PM IST