By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Wednesday that the expected hostage swap with Hamas will not include the release of Palestinians sentenced for killing Israelis.
Netanyahu, addressing a news conference, also said that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will be allowed to visit the other captives in Gaza to provide them with medicines.
He described the release of the Israeli captives held in Gaza as a "holy mission" to justify the deal with Hamas agreed on with mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the US.
Netanyahu also said that all the Israeli security establishment supports the deal to secure the release of the captives from Gaza, asserting that such deal will not harm the Israeli military objectives in Gaza.
Under the Israel-Hamas agreement, 50 Israelis held by Hamas will be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.
The deal also includes a four-day pause in fighting and the entry of 300 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, including fuel, into the Gaza Strip.
Israel estimates that at least 239 Israelis are being held by Hamas following its cross-border attack on Oct. 7.
Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack, killing more than 14,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to health authorities in the enclave.
The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar