 The Irgun to release two of the hostages, as it would be easier to hide three hostages as opposed to five, and to lend weight to the threat to the lives of the remaining three officers.The Irgun released the two officers in Tel Aviv and threatened that if Simchon and Ashbel were executed, it would kill the three remaining hostages.The Jewish Agency and Haganah announced that their intervention had secured the release of the officers but the Irgun denied it.