2nd Hostage–Prisoner Swap in Limbo as Hamas Delays Releasing Israeli Captives

The second hostages-for-prisoners exchange between Israel and Hamas is in limbo after Hamas said it was delaying the hostage release set for Saturday.

Hamas has said that it has delayed the release of a second batch of Israeli hostages due to a dispute over the entry of aid trucks into Gaza while Israel said it would resume its military operation if hostages aren't released by midnight local time.

The Hamas terror group's al-Qassam Brigades said Saturday that the second round of hostage releases would be delayed if Israel did not adhere to the agreed terms for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas said in a statement that "the release of the second group of hostages is delayed due to Israel's non-compliance with the agreement's terms," according to Haaretz . Earlier, Hamas claimed that Israel broke the terms of the deal by allowing less aid to reach Gaza than had been agreed to and by operating drones in southern Gaza.

While there was no immediate official comment from Israel on Hamas' announcement of a delay in the second hostage-for-prisoner swap, Israeli media have anonymously cited Israeli security sources as saying that if Hamas doesn't release the second batch of hostages by midnight Saturday local time, ground operations in Gaza will resume.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that 200 trucks with humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Friday via Egypt's Rafah crossing "as part of the framework for the release of the hostages, as agreed with the US and mediated by Qatar and Egypt."

Second Exchange

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli military spokesman revealed that a second group of Israeli hostages was expected to be released by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, with Israel also saying that the four-day ceasefire could be extended if more hostages are released.

Speaking to France's BFMTV, the Israeli military spokesman said that , barring any last-minute changes, he expects Hamas will release 13 additional Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners.

Earlier, two Egyptian officials speaking on condition of anonymity told media outlets that Hamas had provided mediators in Egypt and Qatar with the names of 14 Israeli women and children that the terror group was keeping captive and was prepared to release in exchange for more Palestinians.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), said in a statement to media outlets that Egypt was holding talks with all parties to reach an agreement that would mean "the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails."

Egyptian sources also told Reuters that they had received "positive signals" that the four-day ceasefire under which the swap is to take place could be extended. Israel has said that the temporary cease-fire could be extended if more hostages are released, but it has vowed to resume its military operation once the truce ends.

The exchange is part of a deal under which, over the course of a four-day truce, a total of 50 individuals held captive by the Hamas terror group would be traded for 150 Palestinian prisoners.

Some of the Palestinians that are part of the swap have been convicted of violent offenses or on weapon charges.

The first exchange, which took place on Friday, involved Hamas releasing 13 Israelis, 10 Thai farm workers, and a Filipino—while Israel released 39 Palestinians.

War Against Hamas 'Will Not Stop'

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In a video statement on Saturday, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) called Friday's prisoner exchange a "pause in our war against the barbaric terrorists of Hamas—a war that will not stop until Hamas has been dismantled."

"Tonight, the world watched and breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw some of our hostages returning home," Brig. Gen. Daniel Harari said.

He said the IDF remains focused on what he called its "sacred mission" of freeing all the hostages and "keep fighting the savage terrorists of Hamas who abducted them in the first place."

Under the cease-fire deal, Hamas was set to release one Israeli hostage for every three Palestinians freed. Overall, the terror group agreed to release at least 50 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel freeing 150 Palestinian prisoners, all women and minors.

Israel has said it's prepared to extend the truce by one extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed.

Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Al Jazeera that Israel didn’t adhere to terms regarding the release of the Palestinian prisoners.

Specifically, Hamas and Israel had reportedly agreed that Palestinian prisoners on the list to be released would be freed according to the amount of time they had been in prison.

Hamas has claimed that Israel broke the terms of the deal when it did not adhere to this order when it freed Palestinian prisoners on Friday.