Israel delayed the release of Palestinian, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister declaring that the exchange will not proceed “until the release of the following hostages is guaranteed.”
In an official statement, the Israeli authorities said: “It was decided to delay the release of the terrorists scheduled for yesterday until the release of the following hostages was ensured, without degrading ceremonies.”
Hamas, however, criticized the delay. The group said the postponement by Israel of the liberation of the seventh share of Palestinians “at the agreed time constitutes a blatant violation” of the cease-fire agreement.
The release of the Palestinians should resume when Hamas releases the next hostage group. More details on negotiations remain vague because the two parties continue to exchange strong rhetoric on the issue.
Previously, Palestinian fighters released six Israeli hostages on Saturday, with hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who should be released in exchange under a fragile truce of Gaza which approaches the end of its first phase.
The release of the last group of living hostages under the first phase of the truce involves two emotional days in Israel, where the remains of another hostage, Shiri Bibas, were identified after the initial transfer of a different body.
Bibas and his two young sons, among dozens captive during the attack on Hamas against Israel who sparked more than 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip, had become symbols of the test suffered by Israeli hostages .
During a ceremony in Nuseirat, in the center of Gaza, Masked Hamas brought a scene Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Israeli-Argentin Omer Wenkert, 23.
An AFP correspondent said they had greeted while holding liberation certificates before their transfer to the Red Cross and return to Israeli soil.
During a ceremony similar to Rafah, in the south of Gaza, the combatants handed Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, who both seemed dark.
Shoham was designed to contact the rally, flanked by masked armed men dressed in black.
In the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, hundreds of people who gathered on a site known as “Square Hostages” applauded and cried while watching a live show.
A sixth hostage, Hisham Al-Sayed, 37, was then released and brought back to Israeli territory, said the army.
Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim, and Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, had been detained in Gaza for about a decade after their entry into the territory individually.
“Our family has endured 10 years and five months of unimaginable suffering,” said Mengistu’s family in a statement.
Sayed’s family called him “a long -awaited moment” and said they were “moved”.
Shoham parents cried and kissed as they watched his transfer, showed a video published by the Israeli government.
“We have seen that Tal seems to consider the circumstances. A huge weight is removed from us, “said the family of the Austrian-Israeli national double in a statement.
The outings are noted from the first phase of a cease-fire contract which started on January 19 and is expected to expire in early March.
