A delegation of high-level senior Israeli defense officials will head to Cairo Friday to coordinate the particulars of the hostage ceasefire deal with Hamas, which nearly collapsed in recent hours, reports the Walla News site.
The delegation will include senior Shin Bet officials, the head of the IDF Strategy Directorate Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, and COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian.
The coordination concerns the process of releasing the hostages on the first day of the ceasefire. About 100 hostages, living and dead, are still being held in Gaza.
The ceasefire deal promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in phases, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and would allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It also would flood badly needed humanitarian aid into a devastated territory.
Over six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones after months in captivity with no contact with the outside world, though it’s unclear if all are alive.
In the previous agreement, the hostages left through the Rafah Crossing into Egypt and were transferred to Israel from there. According to the Walla News site, an Israeli official said the delegation headed to Cairo will also discuss the reopening of the Rafah Crossing to evacuate wounded Palestinians from Gaza along with the introduction of humanitarian aid as stipulated in the agreement.