“Difficult days ahead”: Israeli military will free hostages as part of a cease-fire agreement with Hamas

“Nothing is over until it’s over,” the Israeli military said on Friday about the difficulties that would arise in carrying out the agreement with Hamas terrorists to free the captives. According to CNN, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, called the release of 24 captives—13 of them were Israeli citizens—a “great relief” and pledged support for the hostages who were still being held in Gaza.

“We have some complicated days ahead of us; nothing is finished until it is.” We need to be ready, Hagari said.

As part of an agreement that Qatar assisted in arranging, a four-day cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict started in Gaza on Friday, opening the door for the release of captives from Gaza. The hospital that received the majority of the Israeli captives that Hamas freed reported that they were in excellent health after returning to Israel. Later in the day, Israel freed 39 Palestinian detainees.

“IDF forces deployed in the Gaza Strip during the early hours, following the lines of the operational halt in Gaza. Hagari said, “The commanders were informed and gave the troops instructions on what to do during the pause.

“During the pause days, the IDF will complete the preparations for the next phases of the war,” he said.

“We’re monitoring everything necessary, and are monitoring senior Hamas officials, in Gaza and anywhere in the world,” the IDF spokeswoman stated in response to questions over the possible departure of senior Hamas officials during the truce period.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said that the country’s commitment to seeing that all captives in Gaza are freed is “one of the aims of the war.” According to Netanyahu’s administration, a fresh list of captives scheduled for Hamas release on Saturday has been obtained. Under a four-day ceasefire, the Islamic extremist organization would release the second batch of captives.