Palestinian Hamas announced yesterday that it will release Israeli hostages according to the plan adopted in January, apparently resolving a major dispute that threatened to undermine the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza reached with Israel.
The militant group and Egyptian and Qatari mediators stated that they would work to “remove obstacles” and implement the ceasefire agreement, which took effect on January 19th.
The statement said that three more Israeli hostages will be released on Saturday.
The release of hostages would, for now, allow the continuation of the ceasefire agreement’s implementation, but its future remains uncertain.
Hamas had threatened to delay the next round of releasing Israeli hostages, accusing Israel of failing to fulfill its obligations under the agreement to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, considering this a violation of the ceasefire terms.
Israel, with the support of the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump threatened to resume its offensive if the hostages are not released.
The first phase of the ceasefire, in effect since January 19th, is set to last 42 days. So far, under this agreement, fighting has been halted after 15 months of war, and five rounds of exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons have taken place.
However, the continuation remains uncertain, and negotiations on the second phase, which is supposed to begin in early March, have not yet started.
A source close to the negotiations stated that progress has been made, indicating that mediators have received a commitment from the Israelis to implement the humanitarian aspects of the agreement as of yesterday.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement that they are ready to implement the agreement and to force Israel to fully comply with it.
