Skip to main content

Hamas Delays Second Release Of Hostages Until Israel Lets Aid In Gaza

The armed wing of Hamas said it had decided to delay Saturday's scheduled second round of hostage releases until Israel committed to allowing aid trucks to enter northern Gaza.

Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades said the hostage releases would be delayed if Israel did not adhere to the agreed terms for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

There was no immediate Israeli response to the statement. 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.

He said 39 Palestinian prisoners would be released in return.

Under the truce deal between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, a total of 50 hostages are to be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners, some of them convicted on weapon charges and violent offences, over four days.

In the first exchange on Friday, 13 Israeli women and children - out of around 240 hostages captured by Hamas fighters on a killing spree in southern Israel on Oct. 7 - were released. Twenty-four jailed Palestinian women and 15 teenagers were released from Israeli jails.

Saturday's setback came just hours after Egypt, which controls the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza through which vital aid supplies have resumed, said it had received "positive signals" from all parties over a possible extension of that deal.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), said in a statement that Cairo was holding extensive talks with all parties to reach an agreement which would mean "the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails."

Israel has said the ceasefire could be extended if Hamas continues to release hostages at a rate of at least 10 per day. A Palestinian source has said up to 100 hostages could go free.

Israel and Hamas have said hostilities would resume as soon as the truce ends, although U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday there was a real chance of extending the truce.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/aZJ89E4
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Delhi to Get More EV Charging, Battery Swapping Stations as Cab Aggregators Increase E-Bikes

The NDMC is planning to increase the number of EV charging stations in Lutyens' Delhi and even provide battery swapping facilities at some of these points, a senior official said on Wednesday. With Delhi being among the most polluted capitals in the world, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has been making a push for electric vehicles to nudge residents to opt for cleaner vehicle options. There are around 100 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the national capital at present and this would be the first time that some of them would have battery swapping facilities, which is quite prominent in Western countries, he said. The official said the aim is to provide easy accessibility to charging stations and to save time by providing swapping facilities. This will give a major push to EVs in the city. Various PSUs, including the Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL) and the Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KELTRON), have approac...
Post a Comment
Read more

PM Modi To Reschedule 3-Nation Europe Visit As Tensions With Pakistan Soar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put his three-nation Europe visit on hold as tensions between India and Pakistan have surged in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 civilians were killed by Pak-linked terrorists in a religiously-motivated terror attack. India responded on Wednesday with precision missile strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. PM Modi, who is closely-monitoring the situation, has reportedly asked for his visit to Croatia, Norway, and the Netherlands, which was due next week, to be rescheduled. As per his original schedule Prime Minister Modi was to commence his official visit to the three nations on May 13. He was also going to participate in the India-Nordic Summit in Oslo on May 15 and 16. All three countries have been informed about the change in PM Modi's schedule. They have also been appraised about the current situation between India and Pakistan. Last month too, on the day of the Pahalga...
Post a Comment
Read more

After Nitish Kumar's 'Praise', BJP Says Doors Closed For Him

The opposition BJP in Bihar on Thursday said that its doors were "closed" for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dumped the saffron party a year ago, stripping it of power in the state. State BJP President Samrat Choudhary made the averment to this effect in reply to queries from journalists about the Janata Dal United leader's address to the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University at Motihari. Speaking in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Mr Kumar had freely spoken of the tussle he had with the then Congress government at the Centre for getting a university approved for Motihari, where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the Champaran Satyagraha. Without mentioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi by name, Mr Kumar acknowledged that the project saw the light of the day only after a change of guard "in 2014" as the UPA government "initially refused and after much persuasion agreed in principle but did not move for...
Post a Comment
Read more