Status: 25.11.2023, 18:28 PM
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Israeli security forces in front of the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva, in preparation for the release of Israeli hostages. © Ohad Zwigenberg/AP/dpa
Tug-of-war with Israel: Hamas delays the release of more hostages. The terrorist organization accuses Israel of failing to keep its end of the bargain. Among other things, it is concerned with aid deliveries.
Tel Aviv - Despite compliance with the ceasefire in the Gaza war, the expected release of more hostages from the violence of the Islamist Hamas has stalled. At the last minute, the terrorist organization stopped the imminent handover of a second group of hostages to Israel.
The reason given by the Palestinian organization was that, in its view, Israel had violated part of the hostage deal. She accused Israel of failing to deliver aid to the northern part of the Gaza Strip as agreed.
Whether this was actually part of the agreement between the two parties to the conflict brokered by Qatar remained unclear at first. In Israel, there was always talk of making it possible to transport aid supplies such as food and fuel to the south, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled the fighting in the north. Hamas' military-terrorist wing also said that Israel was not "adhering to agreed standards" in releasing prisoners.
Earlier, there were reports that the handover of the hostages had already begun. According to various reports, there was talk of 13 or 14 Israelis to be released in the second group. The hostages have reportedly already been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). There was no confirmation of this. It was also initially unclear how long the announced delay would last. It was also unclear how Israel would react to the delay.
On Friday, 24 hostages - 13 Israelis and 11 foreigners - were released. Among them were four German-Israelis. In return, 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails. The agreement between Israel and Hamas stipulates that for every hostage taken from Israel, three Palestinian prisoners will be released. The release of at least 39 prisoners was expected.
Biden welcomed release of the first group
The relief at the release of the first hostages after the start of the four-day ceasefire on Friday was initially great. But the joy was clouded by the delay and the concern for the more than 200 deportees who remained in captivity.
After the release of the first hostages on Friday, US President Joe Biden had expressed his hope that this was "just the beginning". German Chancellor Olaf Scholz demanded that Hamas "unconditionally release all hostages."
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who will travel to Israel on Sunday, said in a video message: "I am immensely glad that the first hostages, including German hostages, have begun, including the two little girls whose father sat in front of me here in Bellevue Palace just a few weeks ago, full of despair." He thanked the mediators. At the same time, Steinmeier stressed: "The way to end the fighting will and can only be through the release of the hostages. All hostages!"
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Emotional reunion
The husband of a freed German woman expressed his happiness at the return of his wife and their two young daughters on Friday. But he will not celebrate until all the abductees return, the relative said in Hebrew on Facebook. "I'm happy to have my family back." He said he wanted to help them recover from the terrible trauma they had suffered. "There are still difficult days ahead of me." According to the media, the mother and the two children were kidnapped from the grandmother's house. The grandmother herself was murdered by terrorists in the Hamas massacre on October 7.
The ceasefire negotiated by Israel and Hamas was supposed to last at least four days. According to the agreement, a total of 50 hostages are to be released during this period. An extension of the ceasefire to up to ten days is possible, as the Gulf emirate Qatar, which is mediating in the conflict, had announced. In total, the agreement actually provides for an exchange of up to 100 hostages from Israel for up to 300 Palestinian prisoners.
Transport of relief supplies underway
As part of the agreement, the ceasefire allowed the transport of humanitarian aid through Egypt's Rafah crossing to the south of the Gaza Strip to alleviate the suffering of the people. The Palestinian Red Crescent spoke of 196 trucks. It was supposed to be 260 trucks. In the morning, food and medicines, as well as gas for cooking and diesel, were already delivered to the coastal strip.
Head of the clinic: Hostages in good physical condition
The hostages, who returned to Israel on Friday, were first taken to hospitals near Tel Aviv and reunited with their families. "There was not a dry eye in the house," a director of Israel's Health Ministry, Shoshy Goldberg, said at a press conference at the site, according to CNN. The Israeli military said the 24 people released from the Gaza Strip were in "good condition."
The most recent Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, which was carried out by terrorists from the Gaza Strip on October 7 in Israel near the border. More than 1200 people were killed. About 240 hostages were taken to Gaza, including several Germans.
Israel responded with massive air strikes, a blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched a ground offensive in late October. According to the Islamist Hamas, almost 15,000 people were killed. More than 36,000 were injured. The figures cannot be independently verified at this time.
Qatari delegation in favor of hostage deal in Israel
Unexpectedly, a delegation from Qatar arrived in Israel. The Gulf Emirate had negotiated the ceasefire agreement and the release of the hostages. Part of the Qatari "operational team" should discuss further steps on the ground and ensure that "the deal continues to run smoothly," a diplomat told the German Press Agency. Qatar maintains good contacts with Hamas, but does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
In the ceasefire, which lasts at least four days, the government of Qatar also sees a template for a possible extension. "We have the formula, so it will be easier to get a second deal done," Majid al-Ansari, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, told the German Press Agency on Friday evening. Dpa