Hamas announced on Saturday its appreciation for Qatari- and Egyptian-led efforts at ensuring the continuation of a temporary truce agreement between the group and Israel that began on Friday, Reuters reports.
Hamas said in a statement that the Egyptian and Qatari parties had confirmed Israel’s commitment to all the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian official familiar with the diplomacy said Hamas would continue with the four-day truce agreed with Israel, the first break in fighting in seven weeks of war.
In a post on X, Qatar’s foreign ministry Majed Al Ansari said:
“After a delay, obstacles to release of prisoners were overcome through Qatari-Egyptian contacts with both sides, and 39 Palestinian civilians will be released tonight, while 13 Israeli hostages will leave Gaza in addition to 7 foreigners.”
He added that the Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons include 33 children and 6 women, while the Israeli hostages released from Gaza include 8 children and 5 women, in addition to 7 foreigners.
“We reiterate our appreciation for the efforts of our mediation partners, Egypt and the US, for the joint efforts that removed obstacles to implementing the terms of the agreement for today,” he added.
According to information provided by the Red Cross, the hostages are on their way to the Rafah border crossing, Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari tweeted.
An Egyptian government source has also said that that the Red Cross has received hostages in Gaza and are on their way to the Rafah border crossing, Reuters reports.
Here is more from Reuters on the call between the US president, Joe Biden, and Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, earlier today regarding the holdup over the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas:
US president Joe Biden spoke on Saturday with Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the hold-up over the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, spokesperson Adrienne Watson for the White House national security council said.
The White House, following the call at 1:30 pm EST, learned from the Qataris that the hostage agreement was back on and the International Committee of the Red Cross was moving to collect the hostages. Biden was briefed throughout Saturday morning and on the latest of the hostage deal implementation, Watson said.
Israel said that its hostage release effort remains underway, despite a holdup in the process earlier today which Qatar said has been resolved.
“The effort tonight is advancing,” R Adm Daniel Hagari said at a regular briefing on Saturday ahead of the second group of Israeli and foreign hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons as part of a four-day temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.
The Qatari emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has received a call from the US president, Joe Biden, to discuss the implementation of the truce deal between Israel and Hamas, Reuters reports.
The two leaders also discussed ways to reduce further escalation and increase aid flow to Gaza.
Hamas announced on Saturday its appreciation for Qatari- and Egyptian-led efforts at ensuring the continuation of a temporary truce agreement between the group and Israel that began on Friday, Reuters reports.
Hamas said in a statement that the Egyptian and Qatari parties had confirmed Israel’s commitment to all the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian official familiar with the diplomacy said Hamas would continue with the four-day truce agreed with Israel, the first break in fighting in seven weeks of war.
In a post on X, Qatar’s foreign ministry Majed Al Ansari said:
“After a delay, obstacles to release of prisoners were overcome through Qatari-Egyptian contacts with both sides, and 39 Palestinian civilians will be released tonight, while 13 Israeli hostages will leave Gaza in addition to 7 foreigners.”
He added that the Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons include 33 children and 6 women, while the Israeli hostages released from Gaza include 8 children and 5 women, in addition to 7 foreigners.
“We reiterate our appreciation for the efforts of our mediation partners, Egypt and the US, for the joint efforts that removed obstacles to implementing the terms of the agreement for today,” he added.
Qatari and Egyptian mediators say Hamas agreed to release 13 Israelis and seven foreigners on Saturday in exchange for 39 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, the Associated Press reports.
The announcement came after Hamas delayed the releases for several hours, saying Israel had violated the terms of a truce deal that had set the stage for such swaps. Saturday marked the second day of what was meant to be a four-day truce.
Here are some images coming through the newswires from Tel Aviv and the West Bank ahead of the highly anticipated release of hostages held Hamas and Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons:
Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan told a press conference on Saturday that Israel has not fulfilled its part of their truce agreement and that it had informed the mediators about Israel’s violations, Reuters reports.
He also said the group affirmed its commitment to the truce sponsored by Egypt and Qatar that began on Friday.
Hamdan said a total of 340 aid trucks had entered Gaza since Friday and that 65 of those trucks had reached northern Gaza – “which was less than half of what Israel agreed on”.
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Israeli fire hit one of its patrols in the country’s south on Saturday, despite a Hamas-Israel truce largely quietening the Lebanon-Israel frontier.
Agence France-Presse reports:
“At around 12:00 pm, a UNIFIL patrol was hit by IDF (Israeli army) gunfire” in the vicinity of Aitarun, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said in a statement.
“No peacekeepers were injured, but the vehicle was damaged,” it said, adding that “this incident occurred during a period of relative calm” along the border between Israel and Lebanon.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, the frontier between Lebanon and Israel has seen intensifying exchanges of fire, mainly between Israel and Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, but also Palestinian groups, raising fears of a broader conflagration.
A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas began on Friday, and a source close to Hezbollah told AFP that the Iran-backed group would also adhere to the ceasefire if Israel did.
UNIFIL said “this attack on peacekeepers, dedicated to reducing tensions and restoring stability in south Lebanon, is deeply troubling,” adding: “We condemn this act.”
Late last month, shelling lightly wounded a UN peacekeeper near the border village of Hula, just hours after UNIFIL said a shell hit its headquarters in Naqura near the Israel-Lebanon frontier.
The force said it was investigating those incidents.
“We strongly remind the parties of their obligations to protect peacekeepers and avoid putting the men and women who are working to restore stability at risk,” Saturday’s UNIFIL statement said.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Saturday that it had successfully delivered humanitarian aid to the northern governorate of Gaza in what it described as the “largest convoy” since 7 October.
The convoy consisted of 61 trucks of aid assistance including food, water, medicine and emergency medical supplies.