Posted on 11/22/23
| News Source: Arutz-7
A diplomatic official detailed this evening (Wednesday) how the release of a group of Hamas hostages will be handled when the first releases take place tomorrow.
The official stated that in the first stage, at least, the families of the hostages will not receive advance notice of the release of their loved ones.
"We don't want to inform the families beforehand because we don't trust Hamas. To cause distress to the family would be the worst thing. As soon as the people are in our hands, we will inform the families and bring them to the meeting point at the hospital. The first day will be a model for us regarding how to proceed," said the source.
"In the evening, we will receive the names. The next morning, Hamas will begin gathering the people to be released. The procedure is that they bring them to the Red Cross for transit. As soon as there is physical identification according to the lists, permission will be given to transfer their people back and fly our hostages to the hospitals," he added.
One complication that arose was that Hamas demanded that the majority of the women being held hostage be classified as "soldiers" regardless of whether or not they are civilians. This made securing their release more difficult, as Hamas would like to claim the right to hold IDF soldiers captive as prisoners of war. According to Israeli estimates, there are 40 children in the hands of Hamas and 58 women, five of whom are believed to be soldiers.
"We abolished the distinctions. Children are considered minors up to the age of 19, and every woman is included in the calculation - unless she was actually a soldier on the day of the kidnapping. Initially, Hamas claimed that every woman under the age of 54 was a soldier, and we refused to allow that," he said.
The source stated that the Israeli assessment is that under the current plan, more than 50 hostages - women and children - will eventually be released. "In the beginning, the idea of '50' was so sacred. President Biden was brought in as a lever of pressure on Qatar. The head of the CIA was sent by the American president and explained to the Emir of Qatar the importance of this. Hamas claimed that they could not commit to more, so the agreement also includes an outline that could allow the releases to continue. We believe that we will not stop at 50."