Qatar is holding talks with Israel and Hamas to resolve “as soon as possible” the problem that led to the delay in the second round of release of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian organization in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel, a source said. official.

Earlier, another Palestinian official who asked to remain anonymous told Reuters that Egypt was trying to mediate to find a way out.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced in the afternoon that the release of the hostages would be delayed, accusing Israel of not honoring the agreement. The organization is calling for trucks carrying humanitarian aid to be allowed into the northern Gaza Strip and for “selection criteria” to be met for the release of Palestinian prisoners in order to hand over the hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). A Hamas spokesman said a total of 340 trucks had crossed into Gaza since yesterday, 65 of which reached the northern part of the enclave, claiming that this was less than half of what Israel had agreed to.

Israel, for its part, confirmed the delay, noting that 14 hostages and 42 Palestinian prisoners were to be released today. A spokesman for the Israeli army assured French television channel BFM TV that the armed forces are fully respecting the ceasefire.

However, Osama Hamdan, Hamas’ spokesman in Lebanon, told Lebanese channel Al Mayadeen that the delay was due to ceasefire violations committed by Israel “related to aid (including the entry of trucks into Gaza) and to shootings and the rising death toll,” claiming that “some of (these violations) happened yesterday and are happening again today.”

There is currently no comment from the ICRC regarding the delay.