Family of Emily Hand faces anxious wait as Israel says no hostage release before Friday
Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip, on the outskirts of Gaza City, during the ongoing Israeli bombardment on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
The release of hostages under a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas militants will not happen before Friday, Israel's national security adviser said on Wednesday night.
Israel and Hamas agreed early on Wednesday to a ceasefire in Gaza for at least four days, to let in aid and free at least 50 hostages held by militants in the Palestinian enclave in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel.
The starting time of the truce and release of hostages captured by Hamas during its October 7 attack on Israel had yet to be officially announced. An Egyptian security source said mediators sought a start time of 10 am on Thursday.
It is hoped that nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl Emily Hand will be among the hostagesreleased by Hamas in the coming days.Â
Speaking on Thursday morning, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar expressed hope that Emily would be released shortly.
He said if there is a ceasefire for four days, "maybe there can be a ceasefire for a longer period.âÂ
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Mr Varadkar said that the ceasefire would provide a breathing space for humanitarian aid.
The family of Emily Hand was in his thoughts he said.Â
âI can't imagine what a traumatic experience that is being held captive in a tunnel away from your family.â There was no military solution to the Israel-Palestine issue. âThere's no way that one side can defeat the other militarily, notwithstanding Israel's extraordinary military power.âÂ
Mr Varadkar added that he thought the European Union's policy towards Israel-Palestine had been âvery passiveâ when it comes to Israel.Â
Speaking on Thursday morning, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari said an announcement on the beginning of the truce could come in the next few hours. Qatar has been mediating in the negotiations on the truce.
"The negotiations on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly," Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in a statement released by the prime minister's office.
"The start of the release will proceed according to the original agreement between the parties, and not before Friday," Hanegbi said.
US White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson said final logistical details for the release were being worked out. "That is on track and we are hopeful that implementation will begin on Friday morning," Ms Watson said.
But there was no let-up in the fighting early on Thursday, reports said.
Palestinian media said Israeli aircraft and artillery struck Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis in at least two waves and 15 people were killed. Attacks were also reported in several other parts of Gaza, including the Jabalia and Nuseirat camps.
Israel said its forces carried out aerial strikes on over 300 Hamas targets over the past day. Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.
In Israel, sirens warning of incoming rocket fire from Gaza blared in communities near the border with the enclave, the military said. There were no reports of damage or injuries.
Israel's public broadcaster Kan, citing an unidentified Israeli official, reported there was a 24-hour delay in the truce because the agreement was not signed by Hamas and mediator Qatar. The official said they were optimistic the agreement would be carried out when it was signed.
"No one said there would be a release tomorrow except the media ... We had to make it clear that no release is planned before Friday, because of the uncertainty that hostages' families are facing," Kan quoted a source in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office as saying.
Israeli media, citing anonymous officials, reported the pause in fighting with Hamas also would not start before Friday. Israel's Ynet news website reported that Israel had not yet received the names of the hostages slated for release by Hamas.
Since the Hamas attack on southern Israel that surprised the government and shocked Israelis, five hostages have been recovered alive. Israel says 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians and about 240 hostages of different nationalities taken hostage by Islamist gunmen.
In retaliation, Israel has subjected Hamas-ruled Gaza to a siege and relentless bombardment. More than 14,000 Gazans have been killed, around 40% of them children, according to medical officials in the territory.
Netanyahu made no mention of a potential delay in implementation of the agreement during a press conference late on Wednesday. Hanegbi's statement was released about an hour after the press conference.
"We need to know they are alive if they're okay. It's the minimum," said Gilad Korngold, who said he drew just a measure of comfort from the deal between Israel and Hamas and was among those who were still awaiting word of relatives. Seven of his family members, including his 3-year-old granddaughter, were taken hostage.
"I want everybody back. But I think - and it's a very tough decision - but I think the children and women must be (first). They are most fragile...they need to get out."
The US also hoped that aid would begin reaching Gaza in large volumes within the next few days, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
The 50 hostages would be released over four days at a rate of at least 10 daily, Netanyahu's office said. The truce could be extended day by day so long as an additional 10 hostages were freed each day, it said.
Israel's justice ministry published a list of 300 names of Palestinian prisoners who could be freed.
Hamas said the initial 50 hostages would be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children imprisoned in Israel. Hundreds of trucks of humanitarian, medical and fuel supplies would enter Gaza, while Israel would halt all air sorties over southern Gaza and maintain a daily six-hour daytime no-fly window in the north, Hamas said.
The truce agreement, the first in a nearly seven-week-long war, was reached after mediation by Qatar and seen by governments around the world as potentially easing the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza is the "most dangerous place in the world to be a child," Catherine Russell, head of the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. More than 5,300 Palestinian children had reportedly been killed since Oct. 7, Russell said.
"It's not going to get all the hostages out, but it does get these first 50 or so, all women and children... We'll start to see them come start to get released over the next 24 hours or so," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
The United States also hoped that hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks would reach Gaza in the next few days, Kirby said.
"Now, it's important that all aspects are fully implemented," US President Joe Biden said in a comment on the deal on X.
The Red Cross will be able to visit any remaining hostages in Gaza, Netanyahu said at Wednesday night's press conference.
The 50 hostages would be released over four days at a rate of at least 10 daily, Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Tuesday night. The truce could be extended day by day as long as an additional 10 hostages were freed per day, it said.
Israel's justice ministry published a list of 300 names of Palestinian prisoners who could be freed.
Hamas said the initial 50 hostages would be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children imprisoned in Israel. Hundreds of trucks of humanitarian, medical and fuel supplies would enter Gaza, while Israel would halt all air sorties over southern Gaza and maintain a daily six-hour daytime no-fly window in the north, the enclave's ruling Islamists said.
Qatar's chief negotiator in ceasefire talks, Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, told Reuters the truce meant there would be "no attack whatsoever. No military movements, no expansion, nothing".
Arab foreign ministers, visiting Britain and France for talks on Wednesday, said the agreement should be extended.
"Whatever humanitarian access now increases as a result of this hostage deal must remain in place and must be built upon," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said in London alongside his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts.
They are leading a so-called contact group of mostly Muslim countries that are lobbying Israel's major allies and the UN Security Council to bring about an end to the Gaza war and move towards a permanent solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
"That has to be a plan with an endgame, with timelines, with a mechanism for implementation, with guarantees, and the whole world has to be behind it and the US will have to play a leading role," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said.
Both Israel and Hamas said the pause in hostilities would not halt their broader missions.
"We are winning, and we will continue to fight until a complete victory," Netanyahu said at Wednesday night's press conference.
Hamas said in its statement: "As we announce the striking of a truce agreement, we affirm that our fingers remain on the trigger, and our victorious fighters will remain on the look-out to defend our people and defeat the occupation."
