Three male hostages expected for Saturday release, ceasefire negotiations to continue
Three Israeli male hostages are expected to be released on Saturday in what will be the fifth round of releases since the Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal began. Seventy-nine hostages remain in Hamas captivity.
The list of hostages is expected to be delivered by Hamas to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Friday before being transferred to Mossad Director David Barnea.
In previous rounds, hostages were released on Saturday morning. However, officials now fear that recent statements by US President Donald Trump – regarding destroying Hamas and relocating Gazans to other countries – might provide Hamas with an excuse to delay or disrupt the process.
“Trump’s statements have an influence on the current ceasefire and the hostage deal,” an official told The Jerusalem Post, “but I think phase one will absorb the noise that goes through.”
A working delegation is set to travel to Qatar this weekend and will focus on ongoing negotiations within phase one, which will reach day 21 – the halfway point – on Saturday.
On Thursday, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with the Qatari Prime Minister at Mar-a-Lago. The discussions centered on the second phase of the hostage deal, following Witkoff’s consultations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.
That same day, Trump stated, “I will not rest until every last hostage is returned.”
Netanyahu is pushing to extend phase one, aiming for additional rounds of hostage releases in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners, some with heavy blood on their hands. However, officials cautioned that even if phase one is extended, it may only allow for one additional round of releases beyond the original day 42 deadline.
Philadelphi corridor withdrawal
This is due to the requirement that, by day 50, Israel must withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor, the Gazan border with Egypt – something Netanyahu has vehemently opposed. Nonetheless, Netanyahu and other officials indicated that if Hamas leadership agrees to leave the Gaza Strip and go into exile, “that changes things.”
The Trump administration appears eager to advance negotiations toward phase two, which would involve the release of all remaining hostages. Trump even warned, “We will be more violent” if they are not freed.
However, some officials question whether the ongoing rhetoric from Trump and Israeli leaders – particularly declarations that Hamas will be eliminated – could hinder the possibility of a phase two agreement.
“The question of whether there will be a phase two depends on whether Israel can fulfill Hamas’s demands and what Israel will demand in return,” an official said. “Both of these issues will be very difficult to resolve.”
Source » jpost.com
