Donald Trump warned on Saturday that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas “will not end well.” He accused negotiators of getting a bad deal and pointed out that no Americans had been released.
The ceasefire went into effect at 7 a.m. local time on Friday, and since then 41 of the 240 hostages have been released: 24 on Friday and 17 on Saturday.
Thirteen Israeli women and children, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino were released on Friday, said Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry.
On Saturday, 13 Israelis – including nine-year-old Israeli-Irish Emily Hand – and four Thais were released.
Saturday’s release didn’t go as smoothly as Friday’s, and at some point on Saturday afternoon it seemed like it wasn’t going to happen at all.
Donald Trump, seen in South Carolina on Saturday, said he was concerned about the hostage release deal
An International Red Cross vehicle carrying hostages released by Hamas drives to the Rafah border point with Egypt on Saturday
Hamas is believed to have delayed the release because it was unhappy with the amount of aid arriving in Gaza – a key part of the deal.
But the release took place – although for the second day in a row there were no US citizens among those released.
Abigail Mor Edan lost both parents in Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel on October 7 and is considered the youngest US citizen in the hands of the terrorist group. She turned four on Friday
“Has anyone noticed that Hamas has been sending people back from other countries, but has not yet brought back a single American hostage?” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“There is only one reason for this: NO RESPECT FOR OUR COUNTRY OR OUR LEADERSHIP. ‘This is a very sad and dark time in America!’
Trump added: “Hamas now wants a better deal for hostages. ‘This won’t end well!’
The deal, negotiated by Qatar with support from the United States and Egypt, calls for Hamas to release 50 hostages – mostly women and children – in groups over four consecutive days during a temporary lull in fighting.
In return, Israel will release 150 Palestinians currently in their prisons.
Qatar expressed hope that the agreement could be extended to allow more hostages to be released.
Joe Biden, who is currently on the island of Nantucket for the Thanksgiving holiday, said Saturday he hopes Americans will be among the next group to be released.
President Joe Biden sips a smoothie while shopping in Nantucket on Saturday during his Thanksgiving break
Biden walks with his granddaughter Natalie Biden on Nantucket on Saturday
Emily Hand, nine years old, is brought to safety by Hamas gunmen on Saturday evening after 50 days in captivity
Nine-year-old Irish girl Emily Hand is reunited with her father, who has vowed to celebrate her final birthday with the “biggest party ever.”
Emily was one of 13 Israeli citizens freed from the terrorist group Hamas on Saturday and celebrated her ninth birthday in captivity
A Red Cross vehicle carrying hostages kidnapped by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack on Israel arrives at the Rafah border, amid a hostage-prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel
An International Red Cross vehicle carrying hostages released by Hamas drove toward the Rafah border crossing on Saturday evening
Ruth Munder, a released Israeli hostage, walks with an Israeli soldier shortly after arriving in Israel on Friday
Tens of thousands of Israelis have gathered in Tel Aviv as the country awaits the return of a second group of hostages
People take part in a rally in Tel Aviv organized by the Bring Them Home Now association to support families of kidnapped people and demand the release of hostages
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said 196 trucks carrying aid arrived on Friday, and Israel said four tankers and four tanks of gas arrived on Saturday
Aviv Asher, 2; her sister Raz Asher, 4; and mother Doron react when they meet Yoni – Raz and Aviv’s father and Doron’s husband
Ohad Munder, 9, reacts as he meets with his family members after returning to Israel at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center dedicated complex on Saturday
A video filmed and released by Hamas shows Ohad being released by Hamas gunmen on Friday
Asked Saturday whether there would be Americans, he replied: “Hopefully we’ll see something soon.”
Hopes remain that the two American women and a child – Abigail Edan, who was orphaned in the Oct. 7 attack and turned 4 on Friday – could be released on Sunday or Monday.
On Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had received a list of hostages to be released on Sunday.
“Security officials are reviewing the list” and the information has been forwarded to the families of the hostages, the office said in a statement.
Al-Ansari, the Qatari spokesman, told CNN on Saturday he hoped the ceasefire and hostage handover would continue.
An estimated 15,000 Gazans have been killed since the October 7 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis.
“We hope that the momentum created by the releases of these two days and by this four-day agreement will allow us to extend the ceasefire beyond these four days and therefore to have more serious discussions about the rest.” “Hostages,” Al-Ansari said.
“In this type of mediation you will always find that both sides say that the other side did not abide by the agreement.”
He said he could not say whether there would be Americans among those released Sunday and Monday.
“The lists are delivered daily,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we cannot know in advance who will be on this list.”
In the West Bank, hundreds of people broke out in wild celebrations for a second time as a busload of Palestinian prisoners arrived early Sunday.
Teenagers released under the deal were carried on the shoulders of well-wishers in the main square of Al Bireh town.
Shuruq Dwayat (left), a Palestinian prisoner released by Israel, is hugged by relatives as she returns home in East Jerusalem’s Sur Bahar neighborhood on Sunday morning
Israa Jaabis (center), a Palestinian prisoner released by Israel, is hugged by relatives as she returns home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber on Sunday
Palestinians walk past buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza at the Nusseirat refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip on Saturday
Some of the Palestinian prisoners were released in East Jerusalem, while the majority returned home and received a hero’s welcome in the occupied West Bank.
But the mood of celebration was marred by scenes of destruction and suffering in Gaza.
The start of the pause brought calm to 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who are suffering from the relentless Israeli bombardment that has killed thousands, forced three-quarters of the population from their homes and leveled residential areas. The rocket fire from Gaza fighters into Israel also stopped.
War-weary Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, where the offensive was focused, returned to the streets, crunching over rubble between destroyed buildings and sometimes digging through with their bare hands.
At the Indonesian hospital in Jabaliya, which was besieged by the Israeli military earlier this month, bodies lay in the courtyard and outside the main gate.
For Emad Abu Hajer, a resident of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza City area, the break meant he could once again search the remains of his home, which was leveled in an Israeli attack last week.
He found the bodies of a cousin and a nephew, bringing the death toll in the attack to 19. His sister and two other relatives are still missing.
“We want to find her and bury her with dignity,” he said.
Palestinians visit an open-air market in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday
Palestinians line up to cook gas on the second day of the temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Rafah
The United Nations said the pause allowed it to expand deliveries of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since aid convoys resumed on October 21.
It was also capable of delivering about 35,000 gallons of fuel – just over 10 percent of the prewar daily volume – as well as cooking gas, a first since the start of the war.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, a long line of people with containers waited outside a gas station.
Hossam Fayad complained that the lull in fighting only lasted four days.
“I wish it could be extended until people’s conditions improve,” he said.
For the first time in over a month, aid reached the north of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said 61 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies were heading there on Saturday, the largest aid convoy to reach the area so far.
The United Nations said it and the Palestinian Red Crescent were also able to evacuate 40 patients and family members from a hospital in Gaza City to a hospital in Khan Younis.