Under the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal, each female Israeli civilian captive will be exchanged for 30 Palestinian women and children.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has received the names of the 90 Palestinian prisoners to be released today. Of these, 78 are from the occupied West Bank and 12 are from Jerusalem.
Hamas hands over three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Watch as Al Jazeera live broadcast the tense moment the armed wing of Hamas handed over three Israeli female captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City.
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We’re receiving reports that the Red Cross delegation that entered Ofer Prison is verifying the identity of Palestinian prisoners set to be released as part of the ceasefire agreement.
Hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher are in the hands of IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.
Three Israeli hostages are expected to be released after a Gaza ceasefire deal was reached following a delay.
Israel is to release 1,904 Palestinian prisoners in the first phase.
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The prisoners will be transported by the prison service’s Nahshon unit to Ofer Prison, located in the West Bank, where they will be identified by Red Cross representatives. The prisoners will wait at Ofer Prison until the release of the three Israeli hostages is confirmed by the IDF.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says the release of three captives held in Gaza will take place after 14:00 GMT.
In a statement, it also said four other living female hostages would be freed in seven days.
Israeli air strikes after 8:30 killed at least 10 Palestinians, according to local media.
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The Hamas terror group says in a statement that it will be releasing hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher today.
Israel has not yet confirmed the names on the list.
The fate of captives held by Hamas is in the balance until they are finally swapped for Palestinian prisoners
Ever since the war on Gaza started following Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, around 11,200 people have gone missing according to the Gaza government media office.
They did not arrive at Gaza’s hospitals and they were not buried and are therefore not counted in the Gaza government’s official death toll, which now stands at 46,899.
Israel‘s military offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 46,899 Palestinians and injured 110,725 since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave‘s health ministry said in an update on Saturday.
23 Palestinians were killed and 83 were injured over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said.
His statement came almost three hours after Israel had expected to receive the names, which Hamas was to give to mediator Qatar. There was no immediate response from Hamas or Qatar.
The prime minister, speaking to the nation about 12 hours before the ceasefire is set to start, also said Israel is treating the ceasefire with Gaza as temporary and retains the right to continue fighting if necessary. He claimed that he had the support of President-elect Donald Trump, who he said he spoke with Wednesday.
The ceasefire, which was set to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, is to bring a 42-day halt to the war that has ravaged Gaza for the last 15 months.
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The Israeli government early on Saturday approved a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that calls for the cessation of fighting in Gaza and the release of the first three Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners as early as Sunday.