The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced that Israel refused to receive two hostages free of charge, and this announcement coincided with a demonstration in Tel Aviv for the families of Israeli prisoners held by the resistance in the Gaza Strip demanding the release of their families.
Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said they had planned to release two other hostages for "humanitarian reasons" but Israel had refused to receive them, adding in a brief statement that the brigades had informed Qatar on Friday of its intention to release the hostages.
"We informed the Qatari brothers yesterday evening that we will release (two hostages) for compelling humanitarian reasons and free of charge," the statement said. However, the occupation government refused to receive them." He mentioned the names of the hostages and their card numbers.
Zaher Jabarin, who is in charge of the prisoners' file in Hamas, told Al Jazeera that the movement's offer to release the two prisoners was in accordance with the morality of the resistance.
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza said that the agreement with Qatar included the release of 4 prisoners, and that the Israeli government refused to receive the other two hostages.
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tel Aviv said that Israel sees this step as an exercise of psychological warfare by the Qassam Brigades and an attempt to secure the release of civilian prisoners in order to influence military movements on the one hand, and on the other hand to influence the path of opening safe passage and humanitarian aid.
According to the correspondent, Israel is taking into account that a major psychological war will be practiced on the families of the prisoners, which prompts Israel to try to downplay these steps and not to deal with them even by the media.
Yesterday, the Qassam Brigades released two American prisoners, a mother and her daughter, and handed them over to the Red Cross in Gaza, which in turn handed them over to Israel.
Prisoners' families demonstrations
Abu Obeida's announcement coincided with hundreds of families of prisoners held by the resistance in the Gaza Strip demonstrating in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu step down and admit failure and return their children to Gaza.
Al-Jazeera correspondent said that these demonstrations are expected to escalate in the coming days as the families of the prisoners believe that the Israeli government is doing little to release their families, nor does it make this a major goal among the goals of the war.
He pointed out that the fears of the prisoners' families come after more than one political and military official spoke about the goals of the war and did not mention the issue of prisoners as one of its goals.
Adding to their concerns, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee when he spoke about the goals of the war without addressing the issue of prisoners.
French newspaper Le Monde said the families of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas fear the consequences of any ground intervention in the coming days.
She noted that the negotiations on detainees were as sensitive as they were confidential.
The families of the detainees are pinning their hopes on the role of countries including Qatar in securing the release of more of them through their mediation.
On the other hand, Le Monde pointed to the Netanyahu government's strategy on this issue by asserting that the head of Israel's National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, asserted that the issue of detainees is at the heart of any discussion about the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.