Israel is holding its breath with just hours to go before the conditions of the four-day truce agreed with Hamas are reached, which will free 50 of the hostages held captive by the terrorist group in Gaza. Authorities had initially expected the first hostages to be released this Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Tel Aviv time, however, Israeli officials later confirmed that the releases will not begin before Friday due to a delay in the implementation of the agreements.

According to Israeli government sources, the hostages will be released in batches of around twelve people, and Hamas has committed to releasing 50 hostages in the next four days. In exchange, Hamas will have a window of opportunity to organize its resources thanks to the break in the advance of Israeli troops in Gaza. A new batch of humanitarian aid for Palestinians will also enter the Strip.

From the Israeli media, there has been speculation that Hamas could finally release more hostages than initially anticipated. According to Times of Israel sources, extending the pause beyond four days remains a central goal of Hamas. Therefore, more prisoners could be released to extend the number of days of truce.

As for the daily number of releases, Times of Israel sources point out that Hamas is obliged by the agreement to release 50 hostages within four days, with no less than ten hostages per day of truce. Therefore, if Hamas hands over only ten hostages a day in the first three days, Hamas would have to make up the numbers to reach a total of 50 by the fourth day.

List of future released hostages

The government of Israel will receive a list with the names of the hostages who will be released on Thursday during the first day of the truce, according to Israeli Channel 12.

According to the same source, the list was delivered to the head of Mossad, David Barnea, and the general of the Israel Defense Forces, Nitzan Alon, who are currently in Qatar finalizing the details of the agreement with Hamas.