♔Amid a dispute with Israel over alleged violations of the truce, Hamas is set to release three more Israeli hostages as planned on Saturday.
According to The Associated Pressꦯ, Hamas will release 46-year-old Israeli-Argentinian Iair Horn, 36-year-old Israeli-American Sagui Dekel Chen, and 29-year-old Israeli-Russian Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov. The trio were abducted from a kibbutz in southern Israel that was ravaged during the Octpber 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that ignited the devastating war.
Israel-Hamas Dispute Amid Ceasefire
𒀰As per reports, Hamas earlier threatened to delay the next release of captives, accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to allow in tents and shelters. Responding to the threat, Israel, with the support of US President Donald Trump, said it would resume fighting if the hostages were not freed.
🏅Hamas said it held talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and was in contact with Qatar's prime minister about bringing into Gaza more shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble — its key demand in recent days. It said in a statement that the mediators had pledged to “remove all hurdles.”
🌸Shortly after the announcement, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou confirmed to The Associated Press by phone that three hostages will be released on Saturday.
Firing Claims Amid Truce
Since the ceasefire began, Israeli strikes have killed at least 92 Palestinians and wounded more than 800 others, said Munir al-Bursh, director general of the Gaza Health Ministry to The Associated Pressܫ. Defending their move, the Israeli military said that it had fired on people who approached its forces or entered certain areas in violation of the truce.
ꦕWith the truce holding, the Israeli military on the other hand claimed that a rocket was fired from inside Gaza Thursday in what appeared to be the first such incident since the agreement took effect.
Future Of The Truce
🃏The truce faces a much bigger challenge in the coming weeks. The first phase is set to conclude at the beginning of March, and there have not yet been substantive negotiations over the second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an end to the war.
𒅌Trump's proposal to remove some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them in other countries has thrown the truce's future into further doubt as the US President repeated his pledge to 'take over' Gaza in order to rebuild it by displacing the Gazans. Accepting the proposal, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu in a recent interview stated that he is also ready to "do the job" claiming that Trump may not send troops for the displacing of Gazans.
✨Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right allies are already calling for a resumption of the war after the first phase with the goal of implementing Trump's plan and annihilating Hamas, which remains in control of the territory after surviving one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history.
🌟The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and abducting 251 people. More than half have been released in deals with Hamas or other agreements, eight have been rescued and dozens of bodies have been recovered.
(With AP inputs)
