Hamas says next hostages will be released on Saturday as planned

CAIRO/TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Hamas said on Monday it would release hostages held in Gaza on Saturday, after an official from the Palestinian militant group said they would be freed a day later than planned.

Hamas is set to release more than 90 hostages over the coming weeks as part of a complex ceasefire deal reached with Israel this month that could end Gaza’s 15-month war .

The activist group said in a statement that the next group of hostages would be released on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.

Earlier, Nahed Al-Fakhouri, head of the Hamas prisoners’ media office, said the hostages would be released on Sunday. Hamas was to release four Israeli hostages on Saturday, seven days after the ceasefire came into force.

A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, reacted to Al-Fakhouri’s statement by telling Reuters that the deadline for the release of the hostages was Saturday.

This month, Israel and Hamas agreed to a three-phase ceasefire that could end the 15-month war in Gaza. The ceasefire came into effect on Sunday with the release of three Israeli hostages by Hamas. Israel has also released Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The ceasefire agreement provides for an initial six-week ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages taken by Hamas in exchange for detained Palestinian prisoners. by Israel.

(Reporting by Nidal Al Al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Emily Rose in Tel Aviv; editing by Daniel Wallis)