Report: Truce fell apart after Hamas refused to release more Israeli female hostages

Israeli official says Hamas doesn’t want to release remaining women because it doesn’t want them speaking publicly about what they endured on Oct. 7 and in their time in captivity

The temporary truce between Israel and Hamas broke down this week after the Palestinian terror group that rules Gaza refused to release 10 more female hostages, and instead sought to free abductees taken on October 7 from other categories, in violation of the agreement, Israeli officials said Friday.

The terms of the deal, brokered by Qatar, specified that Hamas would first release all women and children being held in Gaza and Israel would agree to a pause in fighting for up to 10 days, the Walla news site reported Friday, citing three Israeli officials.

Ahead of the eighth day of the truce, Hamas failed to propose a list of hostages set for release that would be acceptable to Israel in the final hours, as stipulated in the deal, and instead sent a message through Qatari and Egyptian mediators that it was prepared to release male hostages. Hamas had also proposed to release bodies of hostages it said were killed during captivity.