With hours until a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas begins to take effect, the Iranian-backed terror group is jeopardizing the deal by failing to provide the names of hostages it plans to release tomorrow at 4pm
Under the terms of the agreement, Hamas has 24 hours before any scheduled hostage-prisoner swap to provide the list of hostage names.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement making clear that without the list, there will be no deal.
“We will not move forward with the outline until we receive a list of the hostages to be freed, as agreed,” Netanyahu warned. “Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. The sole responsibility lies with Hamas.”
As part of the initial phase of the ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement with Hamas, Israel is set to release 1,904 Palestinian prisoners.
This group includes 737 detainees and security prisoners, many of whom are convicted terrorists serving life sentences for murder. These individuals are affiliated with groups such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Fatah. Additionally, women and minors held in Israeli prisons will also be released.
Israel will also free 1,167 Palestinians from Gaza who were detained during the IDF’s ground operations but were not involved in the October 7, 2023, attack.
On Sunday, the first three female hostages from a group of 33 categorized as humanitarian cases—comprising women, children, the elderly, and the infirm—are scheduled for release. The remaining 30 hostages will be freed in weekly stages every Saturday over the course of the 42-day agreement.
Hamas will receive 30 Arab prisoners for each woman, child, or elderly hostage they release, while the return of sick hostages comes at a higher price of 110 prisoners each. Female IDF soldiers are valued at 50 Palestinian prisoners each.
If Hamas returns the bodies of dead hostages during this stage, Israel will release more than 1,000 Arab prisoners.
