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Palestinian sources on Saturday reported that Israel would delay the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, saying that their release would take place only in the evening.
According to the reports, Palestinian police forces arrived at the prisoner drop-off point near the West Bank’s Ramallah but withdrew after being informed of the delay. The handover was reportedly pushed back to 8:00 p.m.
Israeli officials confirmed the reports and linked the delay to a security assessment set to be held by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later in the evening regarding a possible implementation of the second phase of the deal with Hamas. "A decision on the next steps and the completion of returning deceased hostages will be made only after the consultation," they said.
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Earlier this week, Netanyahu vowed that Hamas would "pay the full price" after initially handing over the body of a Gazan woman instead of former hostage Shiri Bibas on Thursday. officials believe this was likely a mistake, as Hamas claimed and Shiri's body was recovered overnight and identified at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute.
Israel does not intend to break the deal and four additional bodies of deceased hostages are still set to be returned in another handover next week.