The Biden administration is hopeful the hostage release process will begin on Friday morning as the parties work out “final logistical details,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Wednesday night.
“The deal was agreed and remains agreed. The parties are working out final logistical details particularly for the first day of implementation,” Watson said in a statement.
“It is our view that nothing should be left to chance as the hostages begin coming home. Our primary objective is to ensure that they are brought home safely. That is on track and we are hopeful that implementation will begin on Friday morning,” she added.
Her comments come hours after Israel announced that the beginning of the release of the hostages being held by Hamas will not occur before Friday, despite initial reports that the release would begin on Thursday.
An Israeli official told Kan 11 News that there is a 24-hour delay in the implementation of the agreement, because the agreement has not yet been signed by the other side - Hamas and Qatar.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the agreement was delayed because, while Hamas provided the name, gender and nationality of most of the 50 hostages it was supposed to release in the first phase, there was missing information about the fate of some of them.
In addition, the report said that Hamas did not officially sign the mechanism that would allow the release of the hostages.