As the Hamas terrorist organization fulfilled its part of the third round of the hostage and prisoner exchange on Thursday, a sense of tension arose, leading Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to put the release of Palestinian prisoners “on hold, pending further developments”. The planned release for Thursday has been postponed, “until the safe release of the next hostages is guaranteed”, a Netanyahu spokesperson announced.
Following an initial handover in the morning, two more Israeli and five Thai hostages regained their freedom by midday. They were escorted by members of the Israeli army and the National Security Agency ISA upon their return to Israeli territory, where they are to undergo a first medical examination.
As part of the third round of the hostage and prisoner exchange, a total of 110 Palestinians were to be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for the eight hostages. Hamas claims that 30 of these prisoners are children.