Hamas to release first hostages on Sunday, Israel says

JACK GUEZ/ AFP

The Palestinian group Hamas is expected to release the first hostages under a Gaza ceasefire deal on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday, after 15 months of war that demolished the enclave.

If successful, the ceasefire would halt fighting that has razed much of heavily urbanised Gaza, killed over 46,000 people, and displaced most of the tiny enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million several times over, according to local authorities.

It could also ease hostilities in the Middle East, where the Gaza war spread to include Iran and its proxies; Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and armed groups in Iraq.

Under the six-week first phase of the three-stage deal, Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages, including all women (soldiers and civilians), children, and men over 50.

Israel will release all Palestinian women and children under 19 detained in Israeli jails by the end of the first phase. The total number of Palestinians released will depend on hostages released, and could be between 990 and 1,650 Palestinians, including men, women and children.

Hamas said in a statement on Friday that obstacles that arose in relation to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement have been resolved.

In Gaza itself, Israeli warplanes kept up intense strikes, and the Civil Emergency Service said on Friday that at least 101 people, including 58 women and children, had been killed since the deal was announced on Wednesday.

Israel's acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the country's security cabinet and government.

In the early hours of Friday, Netanyahu's office said that Israel's security cabinet will meet to give final approval to the ceasefire accord, after the meeting was pushed back from Thursday raising concerns of delays.

A full cabinet meeting will be held later, but it was unclear exactly when.

Israel blamed Hamas for the last-minute hold-up, while Hamas on Thursday said it was committed to the deal, which is scheduled to take effect on Sunday.

More from International News

  • Hamas frees three hostages, Israel begins releasing Palestinians

    Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages on Saturday, whose emaciated appearance shocked Israelis following their release on live TV, in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the 15-month war in Gaza.

  • 10 people killed in Alaska plane crash

    The US Coast Guard in Alaska found the wreckage of a small plane atop frozen sea ice on Friday, after the aircraft suddenly lost altitude on Thursday and the crash killed all 10 people on board, officials said.

  • US judge pauses plan to put USAID workers on leave

    A US judge has temporarily allowed roughly 2,700 US Agency for International Development employees put on leave by President Donald Trump's administration to go back to work, pausing aspects of a plan to dismantle the agency.

  • Hamas accuses Israel of ceasefire breaches before hostage release

    Hamas accused Israel of multiple breaches of their ceasefire agreement on Friday, a day before the scheduled exchange of three more Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners in the latest stage in a fragile deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

  • Indian PM Modi to visit US next week

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States from February 12 to 13 and hold talks with President Donald Trump, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Friday.

News

  • H.H. Sheikh Mohammed to honour Arab Hope Makers

    His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai will meet with a group of young humanitarians at a ceremony on February 23, as part of the Arab Hope Makers initiative.

  • UAE Floating Hospital admits 30 Palestinians since ceasefire

    The UAE Floating Hospital in Al-Arish has admitted around 30 patients from Gaza since the start of the ceasefire and the resumption of medical evacuations through the Rafah crossing, as part of the Operation Chivalrous Knight 3.

  • UAE condemns school shooting in Sweden

    The UAE on Friday strongly condemned a shooting at an adult education centre in Sweden that killed 11 people, expressing solidarity with the victims' families.