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Hamas said Thursday it would release all Israeli hostages as planned, boosting hopes that the precarious six-week ceasefire deal agreed with Israel would hold.
Qatari and Egyptian mediators had raced this week to salvage a ceasefire deal as it appeared in doubt, with Hamas sending a delegation to Cairo.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday threatened to “resume intense fighting” if Hamas did not return hostages by Saturday, while US President Donald Trump added to tensions with a shock proposal for a US takeover of Gaza.
Netanyahu’s comments came in response to a Hamas threat to delay the latest hostage release if Israel continued to prevent aid from entering Gaza. Hamas claimed that Israel had not upheld its obligations to allow at least 60,000 temporary homes and 200,000 tents into the enclave, The Associated Press reported.
Anger has also been mounting in Israel after several recently released Israeli hostages appeared emaciated and in poor physical condition.
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Trump’s plans for a US takeover of the Gaza strip strengthened Israel’s hawkish right-wing parties, the BBC reported, who have opposed the ceasefire since it began last month. A total of 16 Israeli hostages have been released since then, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and the calm has allowed thousands to return home.
Though the first stage of the ceasefire is due to conclude at the beginning of March, there have been no serious talks over the second stage, which involves a permanent end to the war, suggesting negotiators face a “much bigger challenge” ahead, The Associated Press reported.