Gaza war pause, hostage deal delayed until Friday
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-774658
Hezbollah is not included in the deal and cross-border violence on Israel’s North does not impact it.
The deal to exchange a pause in the Gaza war for the release of some 98 women and children has been delayed by a day and is now expected to go into effect on Friday due to a last-minute complication.
Hezbollah is not included in the deal and cross-border violence on Israel’s North does not impact it.
The contentious deal that the government approved at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the 47th day of the war, could allow for all 40 of the children and 58 of the women whom Hamas has held since it seized over 239 captives during its infiltration of southern Israel on October 7 to be released.
Only once the hostages are in Israel will the families be notified, to avoid raising false hopes among the relatives of the captives to be freed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that the war to eliminate Hamas would continue once the hostage deal was completed.
“The war continues; we will continue it until we achieve all our objectives,” he said. "This includes freeing all the captives, eliminating Hamas and ensuring that the day after Hamas, there won’t be an entity that supports or educate for terror."
“Gaza won’t pose a threat to Israel,” he said, adding that “We will continue to fight until there is complete victory.”
Netanyahu also pledged that all the hostages would be released, including the two Israeli captives Hamas has held since 2014 and 2015 — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed. He also referenced the two soldiers believed killed in the 2014 Gaza war: Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul.
“We will return everyone home. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone,” he said.
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