Hamas is set to release three Israeli hostages as well as five Thai nationals on Thursday, according to officials from the group and Israel.
Hamas is set to release three Israeli hostages and five Thai nationals on Thursday, according to officials from the group and Israel.
The two Israeli women being released are Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Agam Berger, 20, while the man is Gadi Moses, 80.
The identities of the Thai nationals have not yet been revealed.
Several foreign workers were taken captive along with over 100 Israeli civilians and soldiers when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.
The expected release is part of a fragile ceasefire between the militant group and Israel, which began earlier this month and brought a pause to 15 months of war.
Hamas is releasing hostages in phases in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The release on Thursday had not originally been scheduled but came after Israel and Hamas disagreed over the identities of the hostages released over the weekend.
Israel had demanded Ms Yehoud, a civilian, be released as part of the group and when she was not freed it held up the movement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians looking to return to what remains of their homes in Gaza.
Another release scheduled for Saturday will free male hostages, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Dozens of Palestinian prisoners are scheduled to be released on Thursday and Saturday.
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Displaced Palestinians make their way back to their homes earlier this week. Pic: Reuters
The ceasefire has revealed the sheer destruction of Gaza and prompted Donald Trump to suggest neighbouring Egypt and Jordan take in displaced Palestinians so “we just clean out that thing”, describing the strip as “literally a demolition site right now”.
But the US president’s suggestion was rejected by the two Arab nations and annoyed his Arab-American supporters in America.
It remains unclear how Mr Trump might get Egypt or Jordan to agree, but he has threatened heavy tariffs against other American allies to get his way.
More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
Around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been displaced during the fighting, many multiple times.
When Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023 it took 250 people hostage and killed around 1,200.
