In the latest announcement, Hamas has said that it will release three more hostages on Saturday, which would pave the way for resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. According to a report, the militant group has revealed the details of the hostages to be released, which include Israeli-Argentinian Iair Horn, US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Russian-Israeli Alexandre Sasha Troufanov. According to news agency AP, Horn, 46, was kidnapped along with his brother, Eitan Horn.
Hamas in talks with Egypt and Qatar
Hamas also said that it was in talks with Egyptian officials and was in contact with Qatar’s prime minister to bring more shelter, medical supplies, and fuel into Gaza. It added that discussions also include bringing heavy equipment for clearing rubble — which is the militant group’s key demand in recent days.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire in Gaza and directed troops to prepare to resume fighting Hamas if the militant group does not release more hostages on Saturday. The US also emboldened Israeli calls to release more hostages.
President Donald Trump, after he met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, predicted that Hamas would not release all the remaining hostages as he had demanded.
Trump said, “I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline, personally.” He added, “They want to play tough guy. We’ll see how tough they are.”
Gaza Ceasefire updates: Hamas released 21 hostages
Since the ceasefire took effect, Hamas has released 21 hostages in a series of five exchanges for more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. A second phase calls for the return of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce.
However, Trump’s statements about both the pending releases and plans for post-war Gaza have destabilised its fragile architecture.
As Trump spoke to reporters in Washington and reasserted his demands, an Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting said Israel was “sticking to Trump’s announcement regarding the release of the hostages. Namely, that they will all be released on Saturday.
(With inputs from AP)
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