Three more Israelis held captive in the Gaza Strip are on the verge of being freed on Saturday as part of a shaky ceasefire deal that requires Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
The truce that began nearly four weeks ago had been jeopardised in recent days by a tense dispute that threatened to renew the fighting.
US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to remove more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region has cast even more doubt on the future of the ceasefire.
But Hamas said on Thursday it would move ahead with the release of more hostages after talks with Egyptian and Qatari officials.
The group said the mediators had pledged to “remove all hurdles” to assure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials into Gaza.
The three hostages set to be released after more than 16 months in captivity are: Iair Horn, 46, a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina; Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, who is American-Israeli; and Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship.
The trio were abducted from one of the hardest-hit communities in southern Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack that ignited the devastating war.
The Hamas-linked Prisoners’ Information Office said on Friday that 369 Palestinians were set to be released from Israeli prisons on Saturday. It said 36 of those were serving life sentences.
It will be the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect on January 19. So far, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the truce.
Mr Horn, Mr Dekel Chen and Mr Troufanov were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where some 80 of roughly 400 residents were taken hostage during the October 7 attack.
Mr Horn was abducted along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who had been staying with him at the time. Eitan remains in captivity.
Mr Dekel Chen had been working outside when militants stormed the kibbutz. His wife hid in a safe room with their two daughters. She gave birth to their third daughter two months later.
Mr Troufanov was taken hostage along with his grandmother, mother and girlfriend.
The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanov’s father was killed in the October 7 attack.
Among the most prominent Palestinian prisoners set to be released is Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide of Marwan Barghouti, a militant leader and iconic Palestinian political figure.
Israel sentenced Ahmed Barghouti to life on charges that he dispatched suicide bombers during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was arrested alongside Marwan Barghouti in 2002.
Of the 251 people abducted, 73 remain in Gaza, around half of whom are believed to be dead. Nearly all the remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers.
Concern has been growing about the remaining hostages’ condition, particularly after the release of three last Saturday, who emerged looking emaciated and frail.
One of them, 65-year-old Keith Siegel, said on Friday in a video message addressed to Mr Trump that his captors treated him worse as the 15-month war intensified, kicking him, spitting on him and holding him without water or light.
