Arbel Yehoud, 29, a civilian hostage abducted during Hamas’s October 7 attack, “will be released according to the agreement before Shabbat,” a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official told Reuters.
She will reportedly be released on Friday, according to Channel 13.
On Friday, before Hamas was supposed to transfer the list of hostages that would be freed in the second release of the hostages deal, Israel demanded that one of the four hostages be Yehud.
Yehud was taken hostage along with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023.
Hamas ignored Israel’s demand and announced that Yehoud’s release was planned for next Saturday instead.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated on Saturday that “Israel today received four female soldiers kidnapped from the Hamas terrorist organization, and in exchange, will release security prisoners according to the agreed-upon deal.
In accordance with the agreement, Israel will not allow Gazans to cross into the northern Gaza Strip – until the release of civilian Arbel Yehoud, who was supposed to be released today, is arranged.”
Hamas ‘failed to meet its obligations’
The Prime Minister’s Office statement echoed an earlier statement by IDF Spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari, who said that “Hamas failed to meet its obligations to release Israeli female civilian hostages first as part of the agreement.
Israeli officials have approached intermediaries and the United States, demanding that Hamas adhere to the ceasefire agreement, which they accuse the group of violating.
The omission of civilian hostages like Yehoud has led to accusations of bad faith on Hamas’s part.
An Israeli official told the Post, “We knew they would try to play games, but from our perspective, this is a violation – even if it stems from internal issues within Hamas in Gaza. It makes no difference to us.”
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
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