Egypt Daily News – Hamas announced that it will release the hostages as planned on Saturday, following a dispute with Israel over the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
This announcement comes as doubts deepened about the future of the hostage-for-ceasefire deal in Gaza, despite the movement’s assertion that it is “keen” to implement the agreement and resume the exchange process by the end of this week.
Earlier on Thursday, Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif Al-Qanou stated on Telegram: “We are keen to implement it and ensure the full commitment of the (Israeli) occupation to it.”
Al-Qanou added that “mediators are pushing for the full implementation of the agreement and forcing the occupation to adhere to the humanitarian protocol and resume the exchange process on Saturday.” He noted that a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Wednesday “to address the obstacles imposed by the occupation and ways to fully implement the ceasefire agreement.”
Hamas had previously announced on Monday that it would postpone the release of the three Israeli hostages scheduled for this Saturday, claiming that Israel had not complied with the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Israel subsequently warned that it would return to conflict if the hostages were not released by Saturday.
