The timeline for hostages to be released continued to shift Saturday despite previous agreements, the New York Post reported. On Friday, several hostages taken during the conflict between Hamas and Israel were released, with the others still left in limbo.

After several emotion-filled reunions Friday, the fate of hostages who were to be released the next day still hung in the balance as the deadline came and went. Both the Hamas terrorists and the Israel Defense Forces released statements about when the exchange would take place, and each had a different reason for why it had been delayed.

Hamas claimed it was dragging its feet due to "Israeli violations" of the terms of its agreed-upon cease-fire. Others speculated that there was a squabble with Hamas about how many more were to be released.

President Joe Biden showed his lack of influence on the matter when didn't have answers for any of it ahead of the exchange on Friday, including on Americans who were taken hostage, according to Fox News. "We don't know when that will occur, but we're going to expect it to occur," he told the press from his vacation spot in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

"We don't know what the list of all the hostages are and when they will be released, but we know the numbers that are going to be released. So, it's my hope and expectation it will be soon," he added.

That statement makes it clear that Biden is not in the driver's seat when it comes to resolving this conflict. Still, he oddly said it was his own diplomacy that was the driving force behind the attack the Hamas terrorists perpetrated on Israel on Oct. 7.

"I cannot prove what I’m about to say," the president said. "But I believe one of the reasons why Hamas struck when they did was they knew that I was working very closely with the Saudis and others in the region to bring peace to the region by having recognition of Israel and Israel’s right to exist."

The president hinted that it was his expert diplomacy in the Middle East that was to blame as he was attempting to normalize the idea that Israel should exist as a country in that region. It's an odd thing to take ownership of as it is, but it is especially so in light of the delays with the hostage exchange.

Hamas and Israel agreed to a temporary truce for four days to trade their prisoners. That included the 50 women and children Hamas took during their offensive as well as 150 Palestinian prisoners of war Israel captured.

Friday's hostage release went off without a hitch, but the delay on Saturday could hint at the trouble to come. Moreover, the hostage release definitely does not signal an end to the conflict.

Israel has stated that it will pick up where it left off once the cease-fire is over. "Israel will continue its war on Hamas, and we will not stop until we achieve our two main goals, overthrowing the rule of Hamas and returning all the abductees back to us, safe and sound," Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said from Israel's border Friday.

Both sides in the conflict are likely to dig in considering the casualties already sustained as well. At least 1,200 Israelis were killed in the unprovoked Hamas attack, while their side claims 13,000 civilians have lost their lives thanks to Israeli counterattacks.

It's everyone's hope that the peaceful exchange of hostages eventually occurs. The reality might be different, considering the nature of the conflict.

Hamas has never been shy about its viewpoint that Israel has no right to exist and should be obliterated. This has left Israel on the defensive and rightly lobbing its own counterattacks that will be used by Hamas and their allies to paint Israel as the enemy, and Biden seems to have zero power to influence any of it.