(NewsNation) – The four-day ceasefire and hostage-taking agreement between Israel and Hamas has been delayed until Friday morning local time.

Qatar provided an update on the ceasefire on Thursday morning, saying the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas would begin at 7 a.m. local time on Friday. The first group of hostages, which will include 13 women and children, will be released at 4 p.m. local time, a Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said.

The pause in fighting and the liberation of now 13 hostages was supposed to start overnight, but was unexpectedly delayed.

The Israeli government announced the delay overnight and the original agreement remains the same.

The diplomatic breakthrough promised some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as for families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones killed during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack who started the war were captured.

Israel’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi announced the delay late Wednesday without giving a reason. Negotiators were still working to create “the appropriate conditions” for the ceasefire and exchange, according to Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, which played a key role in mediating with Hamas.

The Gulf state said early Thursday that a new date for the agreement’s entry into force would be announced “in the coming hours.” It was originally supposed to start on Thursday morning. The USA and Egypt also helped negotiate the agreement.

In exchange for the hostagesIsrael agreed to suspend its air and ground operations in the region for at least four days.

As part of the deal, 150 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, will be released from Israeli prisons, Hamas said. The agreement also allows humanitarian aid and fuel for civilians in Gaza.

The Israeli government said Hamas should release 50 of its approximately 240 hostages within these four days, initially women and children. Mothers and children who are released are not separated, officials said.

The ceasefire would then be extended by another day for every ten hostages released.

However, the question remains what will happen to the other hostages who remain in Hamas captivity, such as US citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Goldberg-Polin is said to have been taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7th. His family recognizes this is unlikely to be among the released hostages in that first group, but they said they wouldn’t stop holding on to hope.

Israel Defense Forces said the pause would by no means end the war. As soon as the four-day ceasefire ends, the war will be back on.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.