DUBAI, November 25. /TASS/. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced its decision to postpone the release of the second group of Israeli hostages.

"The al-Qassam Brigades decide to postpone the release of the second group of captives until the occupational [Israeli - TASS] government fulfills its obligations under the agreement regarding the entry of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and starts complying with the agreement on the release of [Palestinian] prisoners," says the statement, published on the group’s Telegram channel.

Shortly before the statement was published, Al Hadath reported that the movement has already started the handover of hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). According to IDF representative Olivier Rafowitz, the second group of hostages was supposed to include 13 Israelis.

On Friday, Hamas released the first group of Israelis, including 4 children. In exchange, Israel agreed to release 39 Palestinians (24 women and 15 teenager) under the "three-for-one" formula. In addition, Hamas released 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino, not covered by the deal with Israel.