‘Not Before Friday’, Israel Delays Hostage Release
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Raven Ruma
- . November 23, 2023
- . Update: November 23, 2023 10:46 am
Israel took the world off guard with a surprising move by implementing 24 hours delay in the release of hostages and 4-day ceasefire. The delay comes despite extreme domestic and international pressure on the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government for humanitarian pause.
Israeli officials decided at midnight that hostage release will not happen take place before Friday. Tzachi Hanegbi, the National Security Council chairman, said negotiations for the hostages are constantly progressing and the release will begin according to the original agreement between the parties, but not before Friday.
Sources highlighted that the four-day halt in fighting, as per the deal, would be on hold. Israeli military operations in Gaza would continue as long as the agreement is not finalized.
Agreement on Hostage Release
In an assurance to allies in the Middle East and the world, the US National Security Council said the hostage deal remains agreed. Adrienne Watson, the NSC spokesman, highlighted that the respective parties were working out final logistical details particularly for the first day of implementation.
“It is our view that nothing should be left to chance as the hostage begin coming home. Our primary objective is to ensure that they are brought home safely. That is on track and we are hopeful that implementation will begin on Friday morning.”
An insider said the delay is because Israel has not received the names of the first hostages to be released by Hamas. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli army, had called the pending truce a complicated process that is yet to be finalized. He said the process could take time and last over a few stages.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said the war continues. “We will continue until we achieve all our objectives. This includes freeing all the captives, eliminating Hamas and to ensure that the day after Hamas there won’t be an entity that supports or educate for terror.”
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Bad Deal for Israel
John Bolton, former US Ambassador to the UN, described the Hamas hostage and ceasefire agreement as a very bad deal for Israel. He said it’s another swap of hostages, innocent victims for criminals that are in Israeli jails at a ratio of 3:1 in favor of Hamas terrorists.
The diplomat believes Israel accepted the deal because of pressure from the Biden administration, which he claims is no longer backing Israel as strongly as it has previously. “I don’t see how this benefits Israel strategically. I’m sure the Israeli Defense forces get some benefit from a pause, but fundamentally, time is on Hamas’ side here.”
Bolton said there are 220 hostages and 9 million other Israeli citizens who are threatened, not just by Hamas, but by Hezbollah.
