Israel-Hamas hostage deal delayed until Friday

(NewsNation) — The four-day cease-fire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas has been delayed until Friday morning local time, Qatar said in an update Thursday morning.

The truce between Israel and Hamas is now expected to begin at 7 a.m. local time Friday. The first group of hostages, which will include 13 women and children, will be released at 4 p.m. local time, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry said.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office-Coordinator for the Hostages and Missing Brig.-Gen. (Ret.) Gal Hirsch confirmed that Israel received an initial list of hostage names but would not release it to the media until the hostages were returned safely.

“Pursuant to the arrival of a list of the names of the hostages who are due to be released first, in the first stage of the outline that has been agreed upon, liaison officers have informed all of those families whose loved ones appear on the list, as well as all of the hostages’ families,” Hirsch said.

The pause in fighting and release of now 13 hostages was supposed to begin overnight but was unexpectedly delayed.

The Israeli government announced the delay overnight, and the original deal remains the same.

The diplomatic breakthrough promised some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.

Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, announced the delay late Wednesday, without providing a reason. Negotiators were still “working to create the appropriate conditions” for the cease-fire and swap, according to Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which played a key role in mediating with Hamas.

The Persian Gulf nation said early Thursday that a new time for the agreement to go into force would be announced “in the coming hours.” It was originally set to begin Thursday morning. The U.S. and Egypt also helped negotiate the deal.

In exchange for the hostages, Israel agreed to pause its air and ground operations in the region for a minimum of four days.

As part of the deal, 150 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, will be released from Israeli jails, Hamas said. The deal also allows humanitarian aid and fuel for civilians in Gaza.

Hamas was supposed to release 50 of its approximately 240 hostages over the course of those four days, the Israeli government announced, starting with women and children. Mothers and children who are being released won’t be separated from each other, officials said.

The cease-fire would then extend an additional day for every 10 hostages released.

But the question remains about what will happen to the other hostages who remain under Hamas captivity, like U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Goldberg-Polin was believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas militants on Oct. 7. His family recognizes that he probably won’t be among the hostages released in that first group, but they said they won’t stop holding onto hope.

The Israeli Defense Forces said the pause will by no means end the war. As soon as the four-day cease-fire ends, the war is back on.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.