Thirteen Israeli women and children presently being held hostage in Gaza will be released by Hamas at 4 p.m. local time on Friday. The announcement was made Thursday afternoon in Qatar.
In a press conference held in Doha, Dr. Majed Al Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said Qatar had received a list of Israeli civilians to be freed by Hamas.
The details of the deal revealed at the press conference, state the 13 hostages will be released nine hours after the beginning of a humanitarian pause starting at 7am in Gaza. The cease fire is scheduled to last four days, the ministry said.
The announcement of the release of 13 hostages came 47 days after the October 7th terrorist attack that saw 1,200 Israelis killed and 239 children, women, and men taken hostage. It also sparked the war between Israel and Hamas that continues in Gaza.
Multiple reports have stated that the International Red Cross would play a role in the safe transfer of the hostages from Gaza to Egypt and then back to Israel. However, the Red Cross was not aware of a deal let alone set to be involved in the hostage swap.
In an interview aired on CNN International on Thursday morning, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it has “not been made aware” of any agreement between Israel and Hamas to allow ICRC staff to visit hostages in Gaza.
“Thus far, the ICRC has not been made aware of any agreement reached by both parties, related to visits by the ICRC to the hostages. Should a visit be agreed upon, the ICRC stands ready to visit,” ICRC spokesperson Fatima Sator told CNN Thursday.
Sator said the ICRC has “continuously asked for the release of all hostages held in Gaza and for their humane treatment.”
“We haven’t stopped doing so and will continue as long as it takes,” she said.
In a statement released Wednesday by the ICRC in Qatar, “As a neutral intermediary, it is important to clarify that we are not part of the negotiations, and we do not make decisions on the substance of it. Our role is to facilitate the implementation, once the parties agree.”
The ICRC stands ready to be part of the hostage release process as well as to check on all of the hostages being held in Gaza when given permission.
