CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Hamas announced on Thursday that it will release the next group of Israeli hostages as planned, apparently resolving a major dispute that threatened the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
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The insurgent group pointed out that Egyptian and Qatari mediators have stated that they will work to “remove all obstacles”, and reiterated that they will comply with the agreement.
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Will the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continue?
According to Hamas statement, three more Israeli hostages will be returned to their country on Saturday.
Hamas had threatened to delay the next release of Israeli hostages, accusing Israel of not fulfilling its obligations to allow the entry of prefabricated houses, heavy machinery, and of having shot at Palestinians.
In light of that decision by Hamas, Israel, with the support of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, had threatened to resume its military offensive if the hostages were not released.
On Tuesday, after a Security Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu spoke of “freeing the hostages,” just like Trump, but Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post that the demand was for three.
Israel did not immediately comment following Hamas' announcement.
If the current problem is resolved, it would allow the ceasefire in Gaza to continue for now, but its future remains uncertain.
Hamas indicated that its delegation held talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and was in contact with the Prime Minister of Qatar regarding the increase of entry into the besieged Palestinian enclave of shelters, medical supplies, fuel, and heavy equipment for debris removal.
The Egyptian state television Qahera, close to the country’s security services, reported that Egypt and Qatar had managed to resolve the dispute.
According to a copy of the agreement text obtained by The New York Times, at least 60,000 units of prefabricated housing and 200,000 tents should be delivered to Gaza during the first phase of the agreement. Hamas has complained that only a small amount of the tents have reached Gaza.