2:51 PM ET, November 25, 2023
Qatar says the hostage release will resume after Israel and Hamas resolve the dispute over the terms
From CNN’s Karim Damanhouri and Abeer Salman
A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman said that obstacles that caused a delay in the release of hostages and prisoners expected today have been “overcome” through mediation.
“After the delay in implementing the process of releasing prisoners from both sides, the obstacles were overcome through Qatari-Egyptian communications with both sides, and tonight 39 Palestinian civilians will be released in exchange for the release of 13 Israeli detainees from Gaza in addition to 7 prisoners.” Qatari official spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said: “Foreigners are outside the framework of the agreement.”
What we know about who will be released: Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari, said on the social media platform X that the hostages scheduled to be released from Gaza on Saturday include eight Israeli children, five Israeli women, and seven other people from other countries. Further details about the foreign nationals were not immediately available.
Among the Palestinian prisoners scheduled to be released are 33 teenagers and six women, according to a statement issued by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club and the Prisoners’ and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Authority on Saturday.
The statement added that most of the prisoners are from the occupied West Bank, with the exception of six from East Jerusalem.
This post has been updated with details about the hostages and prisoners.