Israel said a four-day Gaza truce and hostage release will not start until at least Friday, stalling a breakthrough deal to pause the brutal and bloody seven-week-old war.
Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi indicated the release of at least 50 Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas was on track, but would not happen until Friday at the earliest.
"The contacts on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly," he said in a statement.
"The start of the release will take place according to the original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday."
A second Israeli official said that a halt in fighting would also not take place on Thursday, as had been expected.
The delay is a blow to two million-plus Gazans praying for an end to 47 days of war and destruction, which has killed over 14,000 Palestinians.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day truce in exchange for the release of dozens of Israeli hostages taken captive by Hamas in its surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
The agreement will bring the first respite for Palestinians targeted by Israel's ferocious and indiscriminate war on Gaza, where the death toll has jumped to 14,128 people killed, including 5,840 children and 3,920 women, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.
The deal, brokered by Qatar, the US and Egypt, was announced as fighting intensified in central neighbourhoods of Gaza City.
It caps weeks of fitful indirect negotiations and sets the stage for a tense period that could determine the course of the war, already in its seventh week.
World leaders have since responded to the truce deal, that was welcomed by the likes of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who reaffirmed the 'call for a comprehensive cessation of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the entry of humanitarian aid'.