After delay, US asserts hostage deal ‘remains agreed,’ sides just finalizing logistics

Following the delay in the hostage deal implementation, US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson insists that the agreement will still move forward and “hopefully” be implemented on Friday morning.

“The deal was agreed and remains agreed,” Watson says in a statement.

“The parties are working out final logistical details, particularly for the first day of implementation,” she adds.

“It is our view that nothing should be left to chance as the hostages begin coming home,” Watson says. “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.”

While Israeli, Hamas and Qatari officials had said earlier Wednesday that the agreement would go into effect on Thursday at 10 a.m., Israel announced at the end of the day that it would implementation would not take place before Friday morning.

An Israeli official attributed the delay to the sides having not yet signed onto a document enshrining the agreement while a second source told The Times of Israel that the mechanism for releasing the hostages had not yet been finalized and Hamas had not yet provided a list of the first batch of hostages it planned to release as expected.

Both sources expressed optimism that the deal would go into place on Friday morning.