The armed wing of Hamas released the names of three hostages that are set to be freed on Saturday as part of the ongoing hostage-prisoner exchange deal with Israel under the Gaza ceasefire.
In a Telegram statement, Abu Obeida, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson, confirmed the group had decided to free the captives as part of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” prisoner exchange deal, according to AFP.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed receiving the list of names, which was later published by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. The three men to be released are Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami.
The Israeli government was waiting for the list, since Hamas was to deliver the list of names by 4 pm local time, according to the terms of the ceasefire. “Authorities were waiting for a list of hostages for release,” AFP quoted Israeli spokesman Omer Dostri as saying earlier on Friday. Asked if the swap would take place as planned on Saturday, he replied, “This is the plan.”
But tensions have escalated over the past few days after Hamas went on to accuse Israel for breaching the deal by limiting humanitarian supply consignments into Gaza. Israeli officials have threatened repercussions in case Hamas delayed the presentation of the list. According to reports from The Times of Israel and Walla, Hamas had stalled the move because it was upset with Israel’s failure to send a team to Doha for talks on the second phase of the agreement.
Talks for the next stage are to start tomorrow, the 16th day of the truce. Meanwhile, both parties continue to live in growing tensions as the focus of the fragile truce has remained on prisoner exchange.
