The International Red Cross (IRC) facilitated the swap of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners in the late hours of Saturday evening under the 4-day truce deal brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the US on Wednesday.

Earlier in the evening, Hamas announced delaying the release of Israeli captives as per the truce deal until Israel abides by the terms of the truce deal.

The released batch of Israeli captives, which included six women and seven children, were welcomed by the Egyptian authorities on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

These released captives will be transported by the Israeli authorities from the Karm Abu Salem border crossing between Egypt, Gaza, and Israel back to Israel.

The IRC also received four Thai workers who were captured by Hamas on 7 October and released under a separate mediation effort.

Meanwhile, Israel has started releasing 39 Palestinian prisoners, all of them women and children, from the Israeli incarceration facility Ofer, which is located near the town of Bireh in the occupied West Bank, to the IRC which is escorting them to the Palestinian side as per the truce deal.

Thai workers arrive at the Rafah border crossing on Saturday evening

Deadly West Bank raids
 

As all eyes were focused on the future of the truce between Hamas and Israel after 50 days of a brutal war on Gaza, the Israeli army carried out a number of deadly raids in various parts of the occupied West Bank, killing four Palestinians in Jenin, including two teenagers, and one man in Qabatia.

Moreover, the Israeli army fired teargas at the crowds that gathered near Ofer to welcome released Palestinian prisoners in order to prevent any form of celebration in the event that could be deemed a sign of a defeat for Israel in accepting the truce deal.

In tandem, the Israeli army continued its arrest campaign in different towns and refugee camps in the West Bank on Saturday, arresting at least 17 men in Jenin alone.

The Israeli crackdown in the West Bank has left more than 270 Palestinians killed and 3,100 arrested.

Marathon mediation
 

Earlier in the evening, Egypt and Qatar said that Cairo and Doha have resolved all contentious issues that prompted Hamas to delay the release of the second batch of Israeli captives as per the truce deal.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of the State Information Sevices, said Egypt succeeded in resolving all technical issues that led to the delay in the release of the second batch of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, confirming the swap will proceed tonight.

Rashwan had explained that the IRC has deployed to receive all those released - 13 Israeli captives and 39 Palestinian prisoners - as per the truce deal.

Moreover, the IRC will also receive seven foreign nationals who will be released by Hamas.

Earlier, in a separate statement, the Qatari foreign ministry also announced that Qatar and Egypt succeeded in resolving sticking issues that delayed the prisoner exchange on Saturday.

Simultaneously, various Israeli media outlets also confirmed that the second batch in the captive-prisoner swap will proceed tonight. 

Threats and counter-threats
 

Earlier in the evening, in a press conference in Beirut, Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official and spokesperson who is based in Lebanon, said the Palestinian side remains committed to implementing the terms of the truce agreement with Israel and holds the Israeli side responsible for any breakdown in the deal."

"Israel has not released the Palestinian prisoners according to the names provided by the Palestinian factions," Hamdan charged. 

The truce deal stipulated the release of the 150 oldest Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails but Israel did not adhere to these terms," he added.

"Moreover, Israel has not allowed more than 240 humanitarian aid trucks to the Gaza Strip in the first two days of the truce, which is slightly more than 50 percent of the trucks agreed upon to the strip," he added.

Qassam statement
 

Hamdan's press conference came shortly after Ezz Eddin Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced delaying the release of the second batch of its Israeli captives until Israel complies with the terms of the truce agreement that was reached on Wednesday. 

In a statement, Qassam said it is delaying the release of Israeli captives until all humanitarian aid trucks agreed upon to enter the Gaza Strip are allowed to pass through.

In the press conference, Hamdan said Hamas has informed the mediators that Israel must implement the terms of the truce and is waiting for an answer.

Hamas rejects any discussion of post-war arrangements for Gaza or any proposals for the deployment of any international troops to the strip, Hamdan stressed.

Israel has allowed only 65 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to the north of Gaza out of 200 trucks that were agreed upon according to the truce agreement, he said.

Pressure Israel
 

Hamdan called on the Arab World and the world community to send more humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza.

He also called on the world to pressure Israel for the release of all detained Palestinian medical providers including MD Mohamed Selmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, who was arrested on Thursday.

Hamdan said Hamas treated Israeli captives with respect as evidenced in videos released of the release of some of these captives showing Qassam fighters helping women and children on Friday.

On the contrary, he noted, Israel has been abusing Palestinian political prisoners in its jails.

As an example of Israelis teaching children hatred and racism, Hamdan shared a video circulating on social media showing an Israeli Major sending images of his army unit blowing up a Palestinian home in Gaza as a gift to his little daughter on her birthday.

Tense standoff
 

Shortly after the Qassam announcement, the Israeli army radio said the delay in the swap of captives would be resolved soon.

However, Israel Channel 12 reported that the Israeli government has threatened to resume its military operations if Hamas does not release the second batch of Israeli captives tonight.

Earlier on Saturday, Egypt announced that it has received a list of 13 captives in Gaza and 39 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons who are set to be released Saturday as part of the truce.

Truce deal
 

On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas reached a truce agreement on a 4-day humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza through Egyptian, Qatari, and American mediation.

The truce agreement involves a stop to all hostilities in Gaza and the entry of 200 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies, and fuel,  to 2.4 million Palestinians in the besieged strip.

The agreement stipulates the release of 50 Israeli captives, including women and children, in batches of 12 every day during the truce.

In return, 150 Palestinian political prisoners, including women and children, would be released from Israeli detention in batches of 39 every day during the truce.

The agreement also allows room for an extension and the release of more captives and prisoners.

On Friday, as per the agreement, Hamas released 13 of its Israeli captives and Israel released 39 Palestinian political prisoners in its jails.

Moreover, as per an Egyptian mediation, Hamas also released 11 Asian workers -  10 Thai and one Philippine - who were taken captive on 7 October.

The Head of the State Information Services Diaa Rashwan disclosed on Saturday afternoon that 50 trucks carrying humanitarian aid bound for northern Gaza crossed into the strip through the Rafah border crossing Saturday.

A total of 200 aid trucks, carrying food, water, medical supplies, and fuel, entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Friday.

On Saturday, the spokesperson for the civil defense forces in Gaza told Al Jazeera that retrieving the bodies of thousands of Palestinians who were buried under the rubble due to Israeli bombardment cannot be done in the four-day window of the truce.

World pro-Palestine protesters: Permanent ceasefire
 

As the four-day truce entered its second day, thousands of people across major world capitals and cities came out in massive demonstrations for a lasting ceasefire in Israel's war on Gaza, 

It was the sixth straight weekend of protests demanding an end to the Israeli war on Gaza and a permanent ceasefire since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on 7 October.

In London, thousands of people carrying Palestinian flags marched to protest against the Israeli war on Gaza and express their support for oppressed Palestinians. 

In Paris, defying repression against Pro-Palestine protesters, a large demonstration condemned Israeli war crimes against civilians, urging international protection for Gazans and demanding Israel be held accountable for the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

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In Tel Aviv, thousands of protesters demonstrated to demand that their government do more to ensure the release of all Israeli captives, with some calling for the resignation of PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

The truce deal: The future?
 

On Saturday,  Head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan said Egypt is communicating intensively with all parties to extend the four-day truce between the Palestinian and Israeli sides for one or two additional days.

Rashwan noted that the truce's extension would mean the release of more Israeli captives in Gaza and Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

The head of SIS further explained that Egypt has so far received positive indicators from all parties on the possibility of an extension to the truce.

According to Rashwan, Egypt received a list of 13 captives in Gaza and 39 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons who are set to be released Saturday as part of the truce.

In addition, Rashwan disclosed that 50 trucks carrying humanitarian aid bound for northern Gaza crossed into the strip through the Rafah border crossing Saturday.

On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas reached a truce agreement on a 4-day humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza through Egyptian, Qatari, and American mediation.

The truce agreement involves a stop to all hostilities in Gaza and the entry of humanitarian aid to 2.4 million Palestinians in the besieged strip.

The agreement stipulates the release of 50 Israeli captives, including women and children.

In return, 150 Palestinian political prisoners, including women and children, would be released from Israeli detention.

The agreement also allows room for an extension and the release of more captives and prisoners.

On Friday, as per the agreement, Hamas released 13 of its Israeli captives and Israel released 39 Palestinian political prisoners in its jails.

Moreover, as per an Egyptian mediation, Hamas also released 11 Asian workers -  10 Thai and one Philippine - who were taken captive on 7 October.

A total of 200 aid trucks, carrying food, water, medical supplies, and fuel, entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Friday.

On Saturday, the spokesperson for the civil defense forces in Gaza told Al Jazeera that retrieving the bodies of thousands of Palestinians who were buried under the rubble due to Israeli bombardment cannot be done in the four-day window of the truce.

Palestinians in Gaza: A people in waiting
 

After nearly 50 days in the Israeli war on Gaza, 15,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 40,000 wounded in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, with more than two-thirds of them women and children.

Moreover, the civilian population has teetered on the verge of starvation as Israel coupled its bombardment campaign with a blockade on all water, food, and fuel supplies to the strip. 

Meanwhile, 1.8 million Palestinians were displaced after Israel bombed more than 50 percent of all homes in the strip.