OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
4:10 PM – Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security advisor announced that a planned “hostage-for-prisoner swap” with the Islamic terrorist group Hamas has been postponed until at least Friday.
On Wednesday, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi announced that the release of the first group of hostages being held in Gaza, as part of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, will not occur until Friday or later.
“The release will begin according to the original agreement between the parties, and not before Friday,” he said.
The swap was scheduled to happen as part of a four-day ceasefire in the ongoing conflict. However, there has been a delay in the release of the hostages, with Hanegbi not giving any specific explanation as to why this was the case. It was also not made clear when the ceasefire would begin.
The announcement came after Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day ceasefire, which would be a diplomatic achievement that could release dozens of hostages held by Hamas as well as Palestinians that are imprisoned in Israel, along with bringing a significant amount of aid to the besieged area.
Once implemented, the deal would force Hamas to release at least 50 Israeli women and children in exchange for a four-day halt of the battle in Gaza and the freeing of 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.
According to Israeli officials who briefed reporters, the first 50 hostages are expected to be released in four groups during the four-day pause in what has been referred to as the first phase of the agreement.
However, Netanyahu and two other members of his special war cabinet announced during a national television news conference that the “war will resume after the truce expires.”
He also stated that Israel’s plans are to demolish Hamas’ military capabilities and bring home all 240 hostages held captive in Gaza.
“I want to be clear. The war is continuing. The war is continuing. We will continue it until we achieve all our goals,” Netanyahu said, also mentioning that he had delivered the same message in a phone call to United States President Joe Biden.
Netanyahu also stated that he had requested for Israel’s Mossad spy agency to “hunt down Hamas’ exiled leadership wherever they are.”
On Tuesday, the Israeli government stated that it “will continue the war in order to bring all the hostages back, finish destroying Hamas and make sure there can be no threat to Israel from Gaza.”
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