Three captives are to be released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in exchange for 369 Palestinians held in Israeli jails as part of the ceasefire in Gaza.
The captives to be released on Saturday were identified as US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, Russian-Israeli Alexandre Sasha Troufanov and Argentinian-Israeli Yair Horn.
While the names of the Palestinians to be released have not been announced, Israeli media reported that 333 were arrested in Gaza and will be sent back to the besieged enclave, 10 will be released in the occupied West Bank, one in occupied East Jerusalem and 25 will either be sent to Gaza or Egypt.
In the southern city of Rafah in Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported that Palestinians have been following the announcement of the releases closely.
“Today’s news is sending more optimism among the people,” he said while noting apprehension and concern in the past few days.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan, said the release of the three captives gives more hope to other Israeli families whose relatives are still being held in Gaza.
“For now, the ceasefire is holding. There is some hope. And the families of the Palestinians are waiting for the list of prisoners, who will be included and will see their loved ones tomorrow,” Odeh said on Friday. “Another sigh of relief for the mediators but radio silence from the Israeli government.”
So far, 21 captives, including 16 Israelis, have been released by Hamas since the ceasefire began on January 19.
After the release of more captives, the ceasefire is expected to move to its second phase on March 1 although it is still unclear how that will proceed, Odeh noted.
During that phase, the release of Israeli soldiers is expected although the details have yet to be negotiated, she added.
Earlier this week, Hamas, citing Israel’s violation of the ceasefire terms, had threatened to delay the next release of captives. It said Israel failed to meet its obligations to allow shipments of tents and shelters into Gaza, among other alleged violations.
Israel, with the support of United States President Donald Trump, has said it would resume fighting if the captives were not freed as agreed, but it did not comment on the statement from Hamas.
Hamas said it held talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and was in contact with Qatar’s prime minister about bringing in more shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing the vast amounts of rubble in Gaza, its key demand in recent days. It said in a statement that the mediators had pledged to “remove all hurdles”.
