Hamas expected to name Israeli hostages it will free this weekend
Hamas is expected on Friday to name three hostages it will release this weekend as part of a planned exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees, according to local media.
Israeli media reported on Thursday that Hamas was to name three hostages it would release on Saturday, after it reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire and to carrying out the next exchange “according to the specified timetable”.
“We are keen to implement it (the ceasefire) and oblige the occupation to fully abide by it,” Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanou said, adding that mediators were pushing for Israel “to resume the exchange process on Saturday”.
Israel warned on Thursday that Hamas must release three living hostages this weekend or face a resumption of the war in Gaza, after Hamas said it would pause releases over apparent Israeli violations of the truce.
“If those three are not released, if Hamas does not return our hostages, by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end,” said government spokesperson David Mencer, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hamas had previously accused Israel of holding up the delivery of heavy machinery needed to clear war debris, with bulldozers reportedly lining up at Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with Gaza waiting to enter.
Key events
Red Cross says ‘very concerned’ about condition of hostages in Gaza
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has facilitated the ongoing hostage-prisoner swaps between Israel and Hamas, said on Friday it was “very concerned” about the condition of the remaining captives held in Gaza, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The latest release operations reinforce the urgent need for ICRC access to those held hostage. We remain very concerned about the conditions of the hostages,” the Red Cross said in a statement on X.
Palestinian booksellers decry detention by Israeli police over ‘public disorder’
Julian Borger
Two Jerusalem booksellers detained this week on charges their books were causing “public disorder” have said the experience reflected an intensifying campaign by the Israeli government against Palestinian culture and free speech.
Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmed, whose family has owned the Educational Bookshop for more than 40 years, spent two days in detention and will remain under house arrest until Sunday, despite the absence of evidence to support the vague accusations against them.
At about 3pm last Sunday, plainclothes police raided two branches of the shop on East Jerusalem’s Salah Eddin Street, one selling books in Arabic, and the other selling works in English and other foreign languages.
“They started going through the books and if they were of no interest to them, they would just throw them on the floor,” said Ahmed Muna, 33.
The raids triggered international outrage. Over generations, the Educational Bookstore has become a respected institution, selling academic, historical and political works and fiction alongside espresso coffee and teas to students, tourists, journalists and foreign diplomats. There were street protests after the raid and at least nine diplomats from the UK and other European countries attended the Munas’ court hearing.
Some analysts suggested the targeting of the bookshop was a measure of the increasing radicalisation of the country’s coalition government, which includes far-right parties.
Israeli journalist Noa Simone called the raid a “fascist act”, adding that it “evokes frightening historical associations with which every Jew is very familiar”.
You can read the full report by Julian Borger and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem here:
If fighting in Gaza resumes, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said it would end in the “defeat of Hamas and the release of all the hostages”. “It will also allow the realisation of US President Trump’s vision for Gaza,” he added, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Katz last week ordered the Israeli army to prepare for “voluntary” departures from Gaza, and the military said it has already begun reinforcing its troops around the territory.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels threatened on Thursday to launch new attacks on Israel if it and the United States went ahead with US president Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.
The ceasefire’s six-week first phase has seen Israeli hostages released in small groups in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
The two sides, which have yet to agree on the next phases of the truce, have traded accusations of violations, spurring concern that the violence could resume.
On Thursday, for the first time since the truce began, Israel’s military said it identified a rocket launch from Gaza. The rocket landed back inside the Palestinian territory and the military later said it had struck the launcher.
In Israel, dozens of relatives of hostages held in Gaza blocked a highway near Tel Aviv, waving banners and demanding the terms of the ceasefire be respected, an AFP journalist said.
Hamas has called for worldwide “solidarity marches” over the weekend to denounce “the plans to displace our Palestinian people from their land”.
Hamas expected to name Israeli hostages it will free this weekend
Hamas is expected on Friday to name three hostages it will release this weekend as part of a planned exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees, according to local media.
Israeli media reported on Thursday that Hamas was to name three hostages it would release on Saturday, after it reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire and to carrying out the next exchange “according to the specified timetable”.
“We are keen to implement it (the ceasefire) and oblige the occupation to fully abide by it,” Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanou said, adding that mediators were pushing for Israel “to resume the exchange process on Saturday”.
Israel warned on Thursday that Hamas must release three living hostages this weekend or face a resumption of the war in Gaza, after Hamas said it would pause releases over apparent Israeli violations of the truce.
“If those three are not released, if Hamas does not return our hostages, by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end,” said government spokesperson David Mencer, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hamas had previously accused Israel of holding up the delivery of heavy machinery needed to clear war debris, with bulldozers reportedly lining up at Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with Gaza waiting to enter.
Opening summary
Hamas is expected today to name three hostages it will release this weekend as part of a planned exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees, local media said, after days of uncertainty in which Israel threatened to scrap a nearly month-old Gaza ceasefire deal.
Israel warned on Thursday that Hamas must release three living hostages this weekend or face a resumption of the war in Gaza, after Hamas said it would pause releases over apparent Israeli violations of the truce.
The 19 January ceasefire, which largely halted 15 months of fighting in Gaza, has been under heightened pressure since US president Donald Trump proposed a US takeover of the territory.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Israeli media reported on Thursday that Hamas was to name three hostages it would release on Saturday, after it reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire and to carrying out the next exchange “according to the specified timetable”.
More on that in a moment. First, here are the other key updates:
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The Israeli government has signalled that it intends to stick to the hostage-release schedule agreed in the ceasefire deal with Hamas, but warned that if the anticipated three hostages are not released on Saturday, it would go back to war. Hamas said on Thursday it will continue implementing the Gaza ceasefire deal, including hostage exchange.
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Yemen’s Houthis said they will immediately take military action if the US and Israel attack Gaza, the group’s leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said in a televised speech on Thursday.
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In Israel, dozens of relatives of hostages held in Gaza blocked a highway near Tel Aviv, waving banners and demanding the terms of the ceasefire be respected, an AFP journalist said on Thursday.
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US secretary of state Marco Rubio is expected to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates soon to discuss the fragile Gaza ceasefire.
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On Thursday, for the first time since the truce began, Israel’s military said it identified a rocket launch from Gaza. The rocket landed back inside the Palestinian territory and the military later said it had struck the launcher.
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Two Jerusalem booksellers detained this week on charges their books were causing “public disorder” have said the experience reflected an intensifying campaign by the Israeli government against Palestinian culture and free speech. Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmed, whose family has owned the Educational Bookshop for more than 40 years, spent two days in detention and will remain under house arrest until Sunday, despite the absence of evidence to support the vague accusations against them.
