Tel Aviv: Days after Hamas freed three Israeli women hostages, the Palestinian group on Tuesday said that it would free four more women this weekend. The deal which will be part of the agreement between Hamas and Israel, will also witness the release of some Palestinian security prisoners same day.
However, Hamas has not named the four-woman hostages hostages who will be released after several months of captivity, news agency AP reported. According to the agreement, Hamas will be required to share the names of hostages to be shared at least 24 hours before the release. The group released the first three Israeli hostages last Saturday, which was the beginning of the release of hostages by both sides. The entire country erupted in joy after the release of the three women on Sunday.
Three Israeli hostages were freed last week
The three women who were released earlier were Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher. The release of hostages was done nearly two hours after the scheduled time as Hamas did not share its list of hostages to be freed on the stipulated time. Israel had also warned that the ceasefire agreement wouldn’t come into force unless Hamas handed over the list.
On Monday, Hamas said that the next release of hostages will be on Sunday, as per ‘The Times of Israel’. Only seven women are there to be freed by Hamas, out of the 33 Israeli hostages to be released in the first phase of the hostage exchange. As per the agreement, Israel will release 50 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one Israeli woman hostage each time. Several Palestinian prisoners have been convicted for life in Israel.
Israel’s top general resigns
Meanwhile, Israel’s top general Lt Gen Herzi Halevi resigned on Tuesday taking responsibility for the security lapse over Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. After the attack, close to 250 Israelis were taken hostage while 1,200 civilians were killed. The incident led to further crisis in the Middle with Israel soon targetting Hamas locations and its leaders
