Israel confirms hostage deal back on after Hamas delay

The second phase of the Gaza hostage deal appeared to move forward last Saturday night after a delay of at least five hours after Hamas announced that the deal was on hold.

Close to 9 p.m., Hamas stated that “the Islamic Resistance Movement Hams responded to the estimated Egyptian Qatari efforts that moved throughout the day to ensure the continuation of the temporary armistice agreement after transferring then in the commitment of the occupation to all the conditions stipulated in the agreement.”

It had earlier argued that not enough humanitarian aid had entered Gaza through the Egyptian crossing at Rafah and that Israel had not freed agreed-upon Palestinian prisoners based on seniority.

Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials had worked to save the deal.

Walla reported, quoting Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, saying that "there will be a brief pause," during his meeting with his Italian counterpart. "And then we will continue to operate with full military force against Hamas. We will not stop until we achieve our goals - the destruction of Hamas and the return of all the hostages."

Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be in the Operations Directorate war room in HaKirya in Tel Aviv. The two Israeli leaders will closely monitor the management of the operation to bring the hostages from Hamas captivity to Israel.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and his military Sec.-Gen. Avi Gil.

Around the same time, a senior IDF Southern Command official stated that "any attempt to violate the ceasefire will be met with force," and instructed to formulate an orderly battle procedure for the continuation of the ground maneuver in Gaza and to prepare for the continuation of the fighting immediately after the end of the ceasefire, Walla reported.

The IDF completed its preparations for the reception of 13 hostages who will return to Israel on Friday, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. 

Additionally, 12 Thais will be released by Hamas in addition to the 13 released, according to Egypt's Communications Ministry. It was previously reported that 23 Thai hostages will be released unconditionally by Hamas, mediated by Iran, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed from late Thursday.

The IDF worked in coordination with government ministries and other branches of the defense establishment to formulate a procedure to quickly bring back the hostages and provide the necessary care.

A livestream for their release can bee seen below, but a stream of the hostages' release provided by the Government Press Office will be available soon.

The released hostages will be brought to hospitals where they will meet their families. They will be released through the Rafah crossing into Egypt before being flown to Israel. The Egyptian Communications Ministry said that they are preparing for the hostages' release at the crossing, which includes the Thai hostages. Hebrew media reported.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen toured Kfar Aza and Sderot on Friday morning with his Slovenian and Portuguese counterparts.

Cohen clarified to his colleagues that with the end of the truce in favor of the release of the hostages, the war against Hamas will resume, and also asked his colleagues to promote legislation against Hamas in Europe as well, to outlaw Hamas and its affiliates, and to eliminate its funding sources. 

Cohen has so far met with 20 foreign ministers who came to express support and solidarity with the Israel since October 7.
 

Israel is expected to receive on Friday the next list of hostages who are scheduled to be released on Saturday.

Their families will be updated first before the names are made public.

This is a developing story.

American citizens taken hostage by Hamas in Gaza will not be part of the first group of 13 hostages released on Friday afternoon, CNN reported citing an unnamed US official.

However, the United States "remains hopeful" Americans will be among the some 50 hostages set for release as part of the four-day ceasefire deal.

Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, said on Friday in a recording that the group is committed to the truce and hostage swap deal as long as Israel is committed as well.

The comments were made after rockets had been launched from Gaza into Israel during the enactment of the ceasefire agreement.

The war is not over as far as the IDF is concerned, but is only on a break, while in the coming hours, the main effort is to bring back the kidnapped.

The IDF believes that only the ground offensive and the attack on Hamas led Hamas to return hostages. Even during the ground offensive, operations were carried out to rescue hostages and the IDF will continue to do so.

During the break the IDF will focus on defending its forces, intensifying logistical readiness and learning from what's happened so far, preparing and planning for the continuation of the war, gathering intelligence, and approving orders for when the war resumes.

IDF preventing Gazans from moving back north

The IDF is now on the defensive and there are operational challenges. Every threat to the forces has already been responded to aggressively and will continue to be so. The IDF is prepared to continue a forward attack and will not allow the Gazans to return north of Wadi Gaza. In addition, the army dropped leaflets prohibiting a return to the north and there were attempts to return to the north that were prevented.

A group of some of the families who lost loved ones in the October 7 attack or have relatives who are being held hostage by Hamas gathered in front of the Knesset on Friday to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be removed from office.

The main movement promoting the protest was "The Families' Tent," one of the groups representing families affected by the October 7 massacre.

"We have been sitting in a protest camp in front of the Knesset for 16 days, because we are not ready to wait for the next day. This government is putting us all at risk to protect their careers," said The Families' Tent in an announcement about the event.

Yaakov Godo, an activist with the Looking the Occupation in the Eye group who lost his son in the massacre, Guy Metzger, whose elderly parents are being held captive by Hamas, Motti Ashkenazi, one of the leaders of the protests that followed the Yom Kippur War, and Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nimrod Shafer spoke at the event.

Jerusalem - 'knitting the time until they return'. A knitting project to mark the time the hostages are being held. (credit: Courtesy)

Additional protest planned for Saturday

On Saturday night, a number of protest groups intend to hold a demonstration on Aza Street in Jerusalem to demand Netanyahu's resignation.