The news agencies AFP and Reuters report on Saturday that Hamas is delaying the release of a new pool of Israeli hostages. Hamas says it does not want to release more until Israel lets in emergency aid to the northern part of Gaza. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quotes a senior Hamas figure in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, as saying that “an effort is being made to resolve the problem”. Hamas claims Israel violated the terms of the cease-fire agreement on Friday by attacking Palestinian civilians trying to cross into northern Gaza. This has not been confirmed by independent sources, and Israel has not commented on the claim. AFP reported earlier on Saturday that, according to Hamas, 14 hostages were about to be released and handed over to the Red Cross. They later write that official sources in Israel deny that they have accepted several hostages. On Friday, 13 Israeli, one Filipino and 10 Thai hostages were released. the hostage releases are taking place in the context of the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which is scheduled to last until Monday. A total of 40 hostages are to be released, at the same time that Israel is to release 150 imprisoned Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
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The transfer of a new group of hostages to the Red Cross is underway – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
