Ahead of the implementation of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel cannot proceed with the agreed framework until Hamas provides the list of hostages to be released. He further emphasised that any violations of the agreement will not be tolerated.
Quoting Netanyahu, the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel on X wrote, “We will be unable to move forward with the framework until we receive the list of the hostages who will be released, as was agreed. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. Hamas is solely responsible.”
On Saturday, the Israeli government approved the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas by a vote of 24-8, according to a report by Times of Israel. Earlier on Friday, the Israeli security cabinet had approved the hostage release-ceasefire deal with Hamas and recommended the government to adopt it. The Israel government’s hostages and missing person coordination unit on Friday notified the families of the 33 Israeli hostages expected to be set free in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Israel has not been told how many of the 33 are alive, though it expects the majority are. Israel will receive a full status report on all those on the list seven days into the ceasefire. The order of release is not yet known. The identities of those set to return are expected to be provided 24 hours before each release, as reported by the Times of Israel.
Beyond the 33 hostages set for release in phase one, Israel says 65 more hostages are currently held in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 36 confirmed dead. As the first phase progresses, talks will focus on the release of remaining hostages, ending the war, and Gaza’s future reconstruction.
Netanyahu’s far-right coalition allies have pressured him not to agree to end the fighting, with families of the remaining 65 hostages fearing the second phase may never happen and their loved ones could remain in terrorists’ hands.
Israeli and Hamas negotiating teams signed the deal in Doha early Friday after clearing the final hurdles. Both the US and Qatar, who mediated the negotiations, announced on Wednesday that an agreement had been reached to end the 15-month war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
