The fourth and final round of releases of Israeli hostages by the Hamas terrorist organization under the current ceasefire deal has been delayed due to ongoing issues over the list of which 13 hostages will be released, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) stated. The releases were scheduled to take place at 4 pm/“We are aware of the tension experienced by the families, and we will add information when this becomes possible,” the PMO statement reads. “We request avoiding spreading rumors and unreliable information.”
CNN reported that the issue is that the list provided by Hamas includes just eleven people, nine children and two elderly women. This violates the agreement between Israel and Hamas.
A senior Israeli political official stated that Israel will not tolerate any deviation from the terms of the agreement, which Hamas has breached twice already.
Hamas has released 13 hostages a day over the last three days, totaling 39 hostages. Reducing the number of hostages released on the final day by two would result in a total of 50 hostages released, rather than the 52 who would be released if the numbers remained consistent.
At the same time, Egyptian officials claimed that the mediators "are close to reaching an agreement on the extension of the humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas."
Israel and Hamas entered a four-day ceasefire on Friday as part of the deal to release a fraction of the 240 hostages Hamas took during the massacre of October 7. If the ceasefire is not extended, it will expire tomorrow morning. Between 150-200 Israelis and foreign nationals will continue to be held as hostages after the current deal is completed.