Israel said to ask Trump administration to demand Qatar, Egypt push Hamas to release hostage Arbel Yehud

Israel has asked the Trump administration to demand that Qatar and Egypt pressure Hamas to release Arbel Yehud, the female civilian hostage who it had demanded would be among those freed today, the Walla news site reports, citing an Israeli official.

Israel says Yehud should have been released today and that Hamas’s failure to do so amounted to a violation of the ceasefire deal. A variety of technical reasons have been reported for why Arbel wasn’t released, but a Hamas official told Reuters she’d be freed next weekend.

Israel is looking for her to be released earlier and conveyed the demand to US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, Walla reports.

“So far, we have not received any feedback,” the Israeli official tells Walla.

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