JERUSALEM (AFP) – Hamas is set to release three Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for 183 Palestinians held by Israel in the fifth exchange of a fragile Gaza ceasefire.
The exchange comes despite uproar in the region over a proposal by US President Donald Trump to clear out the Gaza Strip of its inhabitants and for the United States to take over the Palestinian territory.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed to AFP on Friday it had received a list of hostages for release from Gaza after Hamas published three names of captives to be freed.
Netanyahu, who is in Washington, will “monitor this phase of the hostages’ release from the control centre of the delegation in the US”, the premier’s office said in a separate statement.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged the government on Friday to stick with the Gaza truce, even as Trump’s comments sparked uproar across the Middle East and beyond.
“An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home,” the Israeli campaign group said in a statement.
“Now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed — until the very last one,” it added.
Israel and Hamas have completed four swaps under the first stage of the ceasefire agreement.
Palestinian militants, led by Hamas, have so far freed 18 hostages in exchange for around 600 mostly Palestinians released from Israeli jails.
The ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 33 hostages during the first 42-day phase of the agreement.
Negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.
The second stage aims to secure the release of more hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war, which began on October 7, 2023.
