Hamas not provided Israel list of hostages for release Sunday

Hamas is reportedly set to hand over the list of hostages to be released on Sunday within the next few hours, sources told Al Arabiya/Al Hadath on Saturday night.

The sources added that Hamas told the mediators that it would hand over the names of the hostages as soon as they had been transferred to a safe place. It is expected that three female soldiers will be released.

A Hamas source told Ynet that the group is delaying the release of the names because of technical reasons. He said that "communication between [Hamas] operatives is done physically by messengers, and it takes them time to agree on the names and location of the hostages, while IDF jets are still overhead."

He added, "The list will only be released after approval from Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar."

This comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Saturday evening that, at the time of his words, Israel has not yet received the list of the hostages to be released by Hamas on Sunday.

Netanyahu said that Israel "will not move forward with the outline [of the deal] until we receive the list of hostages to be released, as agreed upon. Orange balloons are brought to the hostage demonstration to mark the second birthday of Kfir Bibas, the youngest hostage, and to urge the government not to abandon the hostage deal on January 18, 2025. (credit: Paulina Patimer)

"Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement," he continued. "The sole responsibility lies with Hamas."

In a statement on Saturday, Hamas revealed that it would publish lists of names the day before each exchange day.

An Israeli source told KAN that they knew "Hamas would be manipulative" in not providing who would be released on Sunday.

On the seventh day of the deal, four more hostages are expected to be released, and this procedure is expected to occur every week on Saturday for the next six weeks, leading up to the release of more hostages. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now

A source familiar with the details of the negotiations said that the next 24 hours are critical for the beginning of the implementation of the deal and that Israel feared that Hamas would try to violate it. A spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry said that "there has been no violation of the agreement."