UPDATE: The original hostage deal appears intact, thanks to Qatar reportedly. Things are still tense, and there's no guarantee that Hamas will continue to keep its word, as you know. More hostages are to be released today.
Qatar MFA spox says 13 Israelis + 7 foreign nationals + 39 Palestinian prisoners will be released tonight
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 25, 2023
🔴UPDATE: Egyptian reports say after difficulties in today's negotiations due to technical reasons, Egypt managed to resolve the issues
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) November 25, 2023
An Israeli source tells i24NEWS they are optimistic the crisis is coming to an end https://t.co/fJznUcsqAA
🔴BREAKING: President Biden reportedly had two phone calls a short time ago with the Emir of Qatar and the country’s Prime Minister to resolve the crisis over the release of the second group of hostages
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) November 25, 2023
Qatar deserves a lot of credit for solving the crisis, Israeli source tells me https://t.co/9eVdUNjlMS
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 25, 2023
More about Biden's efforts to solve the crisis over the hostages deal pic.twitter.com/JMnmft4DUj
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 25, 2023
UPDATE II: They've been released. IDF confirms it. I still don't trust these terrorist animals, though (via NBC News):
Israeli official says the hostages were transferred to the Red Cross in Gaza ahead of their transfer to Egypt
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 25, 2023
A group of 17 hostages were released from the Gaza Strip on Saturday and have arrived in Egypt, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals were freed as part of a breakthrough deal between Israel and Hamas to pause fighting. As part of the deal, 39 Palestinians were expected to be released.
"A short time ago, the representatives of the Red Cross transferred the abductees to Egypt," the IDF said in a statement Saturday. "The convoy of the abductees returning to Israel is making its way through Egyptian territory to the meeting point in Kerem Shalom."
The release followed an hours-long delay in the release earlier in the day. It comes one day after a batch of 24 hostages were freed.
***Original Post***
This is what you get when you trust terrorists. Did anyone believe that Hamas, who butchered 1,200-1,400 Israelis on October 7 and vows to destroy Israel, is gumming up the works for this recent hostage-based ceasefire agreement? Katie had the details of this Faustian bargain with a terror group earlier this week:
…the Israeli government officially agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas … in exchange for 50 hostages who were kidnapped by the terrorist organization and taken to the Gaza Strip on October 7. The rest of the 186 hostages held by Hamas and other Islamic terrorist groups will not be released. The public now has the option to appeal the government decision to the Israeli Supreme Court. Ten Americans are among the hostages.
[…]
Ceasefire will start on Thursday, November 23
-50 hostages will be released
-Hostages held by Hamas will be released in increments of 12-13 over the course of a four day ceasefire.
-Israel will release 150 female Palestinian prisoners and minors who have not been convicted of murder but may have been charged with terror related crimes.
-For every additional 10 hostages Hamas may decide to release (after the initial 50 starting Thursday), they will get an additional day of ceasefire. For example, if 30 hostages are released by Hamas, three more days of ceasefire will be awarded. For every additional single hostage Hamas releases, they will receive three Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails and serving time for crimes.
-The Red Cross, which has not yet visited hostages since the war began 46 days ago, will finally visit those who are not released and provide them medication.
-Gasoline, which is used to power rockets Hamas launches at Israeli hospitals and civilians, will be allowed into the Gaza Strip on ceasefire days.
The first problem for the United States was obvious: our citizens are still being held captive. The second is that hours after the agreed ceasefire, Hamas fired rockets into Israel. It was only a matter of time before Hamas decided to play these games. Now, the terrorists are claiming Israel broke tenets of the agreement, which is why they’re withholding the release of the latest batch of hostages (via Axios):
Hamas said in a statement on Saturday it was delaying the release of the second group of hostages over what it called Israeli violations of a deal between the militant group and Israel.
Driving the news: Hamas claimed earlier that Israel violated the deal by not releasing Palestinian prisoners in the way the two parties agreed on, allowing less aid to reach northern Gaza than was supposed to under the agreement, and by operating drones in the southern part of the enclave.
Israeli officials claimed there were technical issues that needed to be sorted out during the first day of the implementation of the deal.
What they're saying: Hamas said in a statement that "the release of the second group of hostages is delayed due to Israel's non-compliance with the agreement's terms," per Haaretz.
Fox has more:
The terrorist group Hamas on Saturday reportedly accused Israel of violating the terms of a cease-fire deal and said it is delaying the release of any more hostages.
Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades said it will not release any more hostages until Israel commits to permitting aid trucks to enter northern Gaza, Reuters reported.
Israel did not issue an immediate response. Earlier, an Israeli military spokesperson had told France's BFM television station that, barring last minute changes, 13 Israeli hostages were expected to be freed, per Reuters.
Israel was expected to release 39 more Palestinian prisoners in return.
Under the terms of the temporary cease-fire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, the terror group would release 50 hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Israel would also permit humanitarian aid to be delivered into the Gaza Strip for the duration of the four-day cease-fire.
Fifty trucks carrying humanitarian aid including food, water and medical supplies were sent to the northern Gaza Strip during the truce between Israel and Hamas that began on Friday, Israel said earlier.
Reacting to the report, former USS Cole Commander Kirk Lippold told Fox News, "You cannot trust terrorists."
Any pause, ceasefire, or humanitarian pause is a waste of time if the other negotiating party is Hamas. Israel should resume military operations once the initial timeline is over. Keep killing these terrorist dogs. Keep hunting them, drone striking them—wipe them out. We’ve all had enough of this dog and pony show. And ignore the media; they’re either pro-Hamas, antisemitic, or hopelessly dumb on this subject. BBC and Sky News are some of the worst offenders.
I’m sorry to say that a lot of the coverage today has been abysmal. The constant, suggested equivalence between Israeli toddlers and Palestinian teenagers who had carried out attempted murder was too much. @MarkRegev was right to be angry. But kept polite pic.twitter.com/wLllVtHiic
— Jake Wallis Simons (@JakeWSimons) November 24, 2023
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