Hamas will release six more hostages on Saturday and the bodies of four deceased hostages on Thursday, Hamas and Israel confirmed.
Four more dead hostages are expected to be released next week in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, according to Israel.
The hostages who will be released on Saturday include Hisham Al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, according to Hamas.
Hamas accused Israel of procrastinating and evading engaging in the negotiations of the second phase and said it is ready to engage in negotiations to implement the terms of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and their supporters marking 500 days in Hamas captivity during a protest outside the Kyria military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 17, 2025.
Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Last week, Hamas threatened to not release hostages over the weekend, saying Israel was not holding up its end of the ceasefire by delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, targeting them with gunfire and slowing down aid and said the hostage-prisoner exchange would be postponed.
Hamas later said the exchange will take place as planned and released three hostages on Saturday. The three hostages freed from captivity were U.S. national Sagui Dekel Chen, Iair Horn and Sasha Troufanov, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Palestinians camp amid the ruins of their houses in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Feb. 17, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images
In exchange for Hamas releasing three more Israeli hostages, Israel freed another 369 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, most of whom were arrested in the Gaza Strip after the terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
President Donald Trump had issued a deadline last week, telling Hamas to release all remaining hostages by Saturday or he would leave it up to Israel to decide whether to violate the ceasefire and continue fighting.
