Hostages in Gaza won't be released until at least Friday, Israel says

The planned release of hostages from Hamas custody to which the Israeli government and the terrorist group had agreed will not occur until at least Friday, government officials announced Wednesday.

Israel on Tuesday announced that it had approved an arrangement to temporarily pause the fighting in exchange for the partial release of up to 80 hostages, out of the more than 239 the group took in its Oct. 7 raid that kicked off the current hostilities.

"The contacts on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly," Israeli National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi said, according to NBC News. "The start of the release will take place according to the original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday."

Under the agreement's terms, Hamas would release 50 hostages in batches over the first four days of the temporary pause. Said pause could be extended for an additional four days in exchange for the release of 30 more. Originally expected to start on Thursday, it was not immediately clear what caused the delay.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the agreement does not signal a willingness from Jerusalem to agree to a lasting ceasefire, saying on Tuesday that "We are at war and will continue to be at war until we obtain all our objectives, to destroy Hamas and to return all our captives and missing persons."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.