In a surprise announcement late Wednesday night, the head of Israel’s National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, informed the Israeli public that the hostage deal is being delayed to Friday at the earliest and that negotiations are still ongoing.

Prior reports, based on statements by Israeli officials and mediators in Qatar, had confirmed that the first hostages would be released on Thursday at 10 a.m. However, following Hanegbi’s announcement, Israeli reports said that Hamas has not yet signed the agreement or transferred the list of hostages to be released the next day.

Various media reports in Israel and the US indicate that Hamas officials have not been able to comply with Israel’s request for a list of the women and children being held captive in Gaza as they are unaware of the whereabouts of a number of them who are being held by other terror groups or individuals.

An Israeli official told Kan News that Qatar informed Israel at about 11 p.m. that Hamas had not signed the agreement because they want to “change details” of the plan.

A number of Israeli commentators noted that Israel has forged a “deal with the devil,” and the announcement of a delay, only minutes after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and top defense officials held a press conference on the deal indicates how Israel itself is now being held hostage by Hamas.

Many in Israel are furious about the ceasefire and blame Israel’s leaders for endangering the Israeli public and IDF soldiers by imposing a ceasefire in Gaza and releasing dangerous terrorists inside Israel. Many feel that the political and security leadership are giving in to the emotions [however justified] of the hostages’ families, most of whom are aligned with the left, to make a perilous decision – one that conveys a message of weakness to Israel’s enemies, increases the risks of additional abductions, chas v’chalilah, endangers the lives of IDF soldiers in Gaza, and puts the rest of the hostages in Gaza at risk.

The video below shows IDF reserve soldiers announcing their fierce opposition to the ceasefire for the reasons mentioned above: “No to a Ceasefire!”

Here’s an example of what the hostage deal looks like.

Israel receive:
10-month-old Kfir Bibas
Crime: Being Jewish

Hamas receive:
Misoun Mussa
Crime: Stabbed female soldier
Marah Bakeer
Crime: Stabbed border cop
Asra Jabas
Crime: Attempted car bombing

No equivalence. pic.twitter.com/5ROlUt3nkC

— Eli Kowaz (@elikowaz) November 22, 2023

On Thursday morning, IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said: “Hamas will try to make the lives of the families of the Israeli hostages as miserable as possible before releasing them home. Meanwhile, our operations against Hamas continue unabated.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)