The Israeli National Security Adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi has released a statement announcing a delay in the implementation of truce between Israel and Hamas.
“The contacts on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly,”Hanegbi said in a statement.
He added, “The start of the release will take place according to the original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday.”
Separately, a source in Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office told Israel’s public broadcaster that, “no one said there would be a release” on Thursday “except the media.”
“We had to make it clear that no release is planned before Friday, because of the uncertainty that hostages’ families are facing,” the source said.
Meanwhile, an Israeli official told a news agency that there would be no halt in the fighting in Gaza before Friday.
Israeli media outlets also reported that the truce would not come into effect before that day, citing Israeli sources.
As per National Security Council spokesperson, Adrienne Watson’s statement reported by U.S media, the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel “was agreed and remains agreed.”
“The parties are working out final logistical details, particularly for the first day of implementation,” Watson was reported as saying.
“It is our view that nothing should be left to chance as the hostages begin coming home. Our primary objective is to ensure that they are brought home safely. That is on track, and we are hopeful that implementation will begin on Friday morning.”
Adrienne Watson
Triggering despair and fears of multiple deaths and injuries, Israeli strikes hit residential buildings in Deir el-Balah and in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
It was reported that strikes hit the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City.
Several areas in Khan Younis and Rafah in the south were also targeted by Israeli air attacks, including a building that houses a charitable group next to the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah.
Numerous raids took place overnight in the occupied West Bank. The city of Jenin, Kafr Dan near Jenin, City of Tubas, Azzun, near Qalqilya and west of Nablus were raided.
Other places that experienced Israeli raids were Beit Furaik, east of Nablus, Sebastia, northwest of Nablus, Balata refugee camp (one teenager was killed and another person injured)Qalandiya refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem as well as Hebron.
Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group disclosed that they targeted 11 Israeli military vehicles in Gaza City neighbourhoods of al-Zaytoun, Tal Al-Hawa, al-Shati, Sheikh Radwan, and Juhr al-Dik.
U.S Committed To Creation Of Palestinian State
According to the U.S State Department, Secretary of State, Antony Blinken discussed the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas in separate calls with the Emirati and Saudi foreign ministers.
In his talks with the UAE’s Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Blinken said the US “remains committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state”.
In the call with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Blinken also stressed that “sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians is a shared priority” for Washington and Riyadh.
The short State Department readouts of the respective discussions made no mention of a long-term ceasefire in Gaza.
In a statement, U.S Democratic Senator, Elizabeth Warren said that she “strongly supports” the temporary truce in Gaza and urges all parties “to extend this agreement and work to achieve an enduring end to this fighting.”
Warren said she welcomed Biden’s efforts to secure the truce agreement, dubbing it a “significant diplomatic breakthrough.”
She also criticized Netanyahu’s military strategy, saying that it “resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe, the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza, and endangered the region’s long-term stability.”
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