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Israeli authorities have postponed the planned release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, initially scheduled for Saturday, following the liberation of six hostages under the ongoing but fragile Gaza truce, which is approaching the conclusion of its initial phase.
Although Israel was expected to release Palestinian detainees in exchange for the six Israelis who were returned home, officials indicated that the process might be delayed until Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a security consultation later on Saturday.
“Once the security consultation concludes, a decision will be made regarding the next steps” of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, said one Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The exact cause of the delay remains unclear, according to sources, but it follows a deeply emotional period in Israel. This comes after the remains of Shiri Bibas were identified, days after an earlier transfer of what was initially believed to be another hostage’s body.
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Bibas and her two young sons, among dozens taken captive during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, had become symbols of the ordeal suffered by the Israeli hostages.
Six Israelis, some of them dual nationals, were released earlier on Saturday, the last group of living hostages under the truce’s first phase.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said Israel would free 620 inmates, most of them Gazans taken into custody during the war, in exchange.
The first phase of the truce, which has largely halted more than 15 months of devastating fighting in the Gaza Strip and has enabled the release of 30 captives, is due to expire in early March.
Negotiations for a second phase, which is meant to lead to a permanent end to the war, have yet to begin.
