Hamas says it will release Israeli hostages as planned

Hamas says it intends to release three Israeli hostages as scheduled following mediation talks in Egypt.

Palestinian militant group Hamas says it will release the next group of three Israeli hostages as planned, in a reversal of its previous statement and raising the prospect of resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas had threatened to delay the next release of Israeli hostages, accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to allow in tents and shelters, among other alleged violations of the truce.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to renew Israel’s offensive if hostages were not freed.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on Hamas’ announcement but if the hostages are freed, that would allow the ceasefire to continue for now although its future remains in doubt.

“Hamas reaffirms its commitment to implementing the agreement as signed, including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timeline,” Hamas said in a statement.

Hamas, whose Gaza Strip chief leader Khalil Al-Hayya is visiting Cairo for talks with Egyptian security officials, also said both Egyptian and Qatari mediators would press on with efforts “to remove obstacles and close gaps”.

This week Hamas accused Israel of failing to respect stipulations calling for a massive increase in aid deliveries and said it would not hand over three hostages due to be released on Saturday until the issue was resolved.

In response, Netanyahu ordered reserves to be called up and threatened to resume combat operations that have been paused for almost a month unless the hostages were returned.

Israeli minister Avi Dichter, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Israeli public radio on Thursday that he did not believe Hamas would be able to get out of the agreement.

“There’s a deal, they won’t be able to give anything less than what is in the deal,” he said.

“I don’t believe that Hamas can behave otherwise.”

Egyptian security sources told Reuters they expected heavy construction equipment to enter on Thursday and if that happened then Hamas would release hostages on Saturday.

The stand-off between Israel and Hamas has threatened to reignite their conflict, which has devastated the Gaza Strip and taken the Middle East to the brink of a wider regional war.

Egyptian and Qatari officials have been working to avoid a breakdown and a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said both sides had agreed to go ahead with the ceasefire and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

The war in the Gaza Strip erupted after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed at least 1200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and in which more than 250 were taken as hostages.

This triggered a relentless Israeli response that has laid waste the coastal enclave and killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Reuters with AP