Hamas said it would free hostages on Saturday as scheduled, backing down from a threatened indefinite delay that had cast doubt on the durability of the initial six-week Gaza ceasefire.
At least three Israelis held by the Iran-backed group are due to be released in the next round of a phased exchange for hundreds of jailed Palestinians. Hamas had on Monday cited a series of Israeli truce violations, including a failure to deliver on humanitarian-relief pledges, as a reason to suspend the staggered swap.
Israel responded by putting the military on high alert, and U.S. President Donald Trump said his ally should “let hell break out” if Hamas made good on the threat. The U.S. terror-designated organization then recast the move as a warning.
After conferring with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Hamas said Thursday it had reaffirmed its “commitment to implementing the agreement as signed, including the exchange of prisoners according to the scheduled timeline.”
The group said mediators agreed to press Israel over the transportation into Gaza of prefabricated housing, tents, medical equipment and fuel for the war-ravaged population.
Cairo24 TV showed trucks, said to be loaded with the goods, at a the border crossing between the territory and Egypt.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office pushed back, saying caravans and heavy equipment were not being admitted to Gaza and that the truce deal made no provisions for such imports from Egypt. Other areas of dispute include Israeli gunfire in Gaza and the passage of Palestinians to the north of the territory.
Avi Dichter, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, attributed Hamas’s change of tack to U.S.-backed Israeli warnings of an even more devastating Gaza offensive than before the ceasefire began last month. The war had previously raged for 15 months, triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.
Hamas would free at least three hostages on Saturday, Dichter predicted in an interview with Tel Aviv radio station 103 FM, because it “understands full well that any other option will likely bring about a resumption of high-intensity warfare.”
Hamas should, in accordance with the deal, on Friday publish the names of hostages slated for release the following day, Dichter said.
Trump has encouraged Israel to call off the truce if hostages are not freed by noon on Saturday. He’s been vague on whether the release roster should comprise three hostages — as stipulated by ceasefire plan — or more. There has been similar ambiguity from Israel.
Israel has a formal war goal of destroying Hamas as a military and governing force. Talks on a second phase of the truce that would map out a permanent end to hostilities are at an early stage.
“The language of threats and intimidation used by Trump and Netanyahu does not serve the implementation of the ceasefire agreement,” Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif Al-Qanoun said, adding that the Iran-backed group sent delegates to Egypt to discuss the deal.
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