Secret Guantanamo prisoner transfer halted by war on Gaza: Report

A transfer of eleven Guantanamo detainees to Oman was scheduled for October 2023, when Hamas's attack on southern Israel halted the process, US officials have now acknowledged after American TV broadcaster NBC published the news on Monday. 

Last October, the Biden administration planned and nearly executed the resettlement of eleven detainees who had been cleared for transfer by national security review panels. The detainees to be released are of Yemeni origin or have ties to the country and are being held at the military prison without having been charged with crimes. 

A military cargo plane was reportedly already on the runway at Guantanamo Bay, at the eastern end of Cuba, when the mission was called off, according to security officials, and the plane took off without the group. 

Usually, such detainee movements are kept secret until completed, but the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to NBC, acknowledged the aborted mission.

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