Israel announced that the prisoner exchange process with Hamas will not begin before Friday

The president of Israel’s National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, made a statement regarding the prisoner exchange process, which is expected to take effect on Thursday.

Stating that negotiations for the release of the captives are “making steady progress,” Hanegbi said: “The release will begin according to the original agreement between the parties and will not occur before this Friday.” he said.

The Israeli press called the announcement a “delay.”

Israeli state television news KAN stated that “The families of Israeli prisoners were not informed about the delay in the implementation of the agreement before the announcement was made to the press.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on a program he attended on Israeli Army Radio that the first group of Israeli prisoners would be taken on November 23 within the scope of the agreement.

Israeli state television had also announced that the first group of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip would be released at 10:00 on Thursday.

In addition, the head of Hamas’ International Relations Office, Musa Abu Marzouk, announced that reconciliation with Israel, which will mean a humanitarian pause to the conflict, will begin at 10:00 a.m. on November 23.

Netanyahu affirmed that the prisoner exchange agreement will not cover those who caused the deaths of Israelis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the prisoner exchange deal with the Hamas movement will not include people accused of killing Israelis.

In a joint press conference with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Netanyahu made remarks about the prisoner exchange agreement.

Netanyahu stated that the Red Cross will visit other prisoners who are not covered by the prisoner exchange agreement and provide them with medicine. Netanyahu stated that this was included in the articles of the agreement and he expected the Organization to fulfill its duty.

“This agreement will not cover those who kill Israelis.” Netanyahu said that, as prime minister, he faced difficult decisions regarding the captives and that he spent all his time trying to get the captives returned to Israel.

Stating that Israel has managed to save captives through military operations throughout its history, Netanyahu said: “However, this is not always successful, so we do not wait and take advantage of every opportunity to free our hostages.” . he said.

Noting that the security institutions and the Israeli military approved the prisoner exchange agreement, Netanyahu said: “Our security forces will ensure their security during the temporary ceasefire period, while intelligence efforts will continue and the army will continue being ready for war.” he said.

“I want to be clear.” Netanyahu said:

“The war will continue until we achieve all our objectives, which are to destroy Hamas and recover all our hostages. It will be ensured that no element supporting terrorism will rule Gaza the day after the war. Gaza will not pose a threat to Israel’s future. Political and military efforts ripened the conditions for the return of the hostages. “I believe that this situation will also allow the release of more hostages in the following stages.”

– Prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel

Israeli and international press reported that in the first phase of the deal, Hamas would release between 50 and 80 Israeli women and children held in Gaza. In return, Israel was reportedly expected to release at least 150 Palestinian detainees, mostly women and children.

It was stated that the prisoner exchange would be carried out by declaring a four-day ceasefire in Gaza and that approximately 300 trucks per day would be allowed into Gaza within the scope of the agreement.

According to Israel, Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, holds 239 Israeli prisoners.

There are approximately 7,000 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, more than 2,000 of whom are administrative detainees.

Israeli forces have detained approximately 3,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7. (AA)