Hamas on Friday released the names of six living Israeli hostages who the militants plan to release from Gaza on Saturday. Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, more than 600 Palestinians will also be freed from Israeli prisons in exchange, according to the Hamas-linked Palestinian prisoners media office.
The announcements are a sign the fragile ceasefire deal remains on track despite the tensions following Israeli allegations overnight that hostage Shiri Bibas’ body was not returned to Israel as promised by Hamas.
The militant group insists it is sticking to the truce deal and “has no interest in withholding any bodies in its possession.” The militant group says the four dead hostages it handed over Thursday had been killed by an Israeli airstrike in November 2023, and the bodies could have been misidentified because of bombardments in the area.