Hopes raised for saving Gaza ceasefire as hostage releases reportedly agreed – Middle East crisis live

Release of three Israeli hostages on Saturday reportedly agreed

After a day of mixed messages over hostage releases on Wednesday, on Thursday morning Palestinian sources and Israeli media were suggesting that the release of three Israeli hostages by Hamas would go ahead as planned.

Haaretz reported that Palestinian sources said:

Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement over the next phase of the deal to take place this Saturday, in which three hostages will be released … [and] Israel will increase the entry of aid into the Strip, mainly consisting of tents, gas, and medical equipment.”

Egyptian media channel Al-Rad reported that negotiations in Cairo had bought Hamas and Israel closer to an agreement. Israel’s Channel 12 broadcaster also reported that the flow of humanitarian aid, which is under Israel’s control, was to be increased.

Key events

Palestinian sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that there has been “progress” in efforts to salvage the ceasefire in Gaza from its worst crisis yet, with a view to ensuring that Hamas releases Israeli hostages this weekend as planned.

The truce that has largely halted fighting in the Israel-Hamas war was plunged into uncertainty after the militant group said it would not release hostages on Saturday, citing Israeli violations. Israel said that if Hamas failed to free captives on schedule, it would resume its war in Gaza.

“There is progress,” one source told AFP, adding that mediators had obtained from Israel a “promise … to put in place a humanitarian protocol starting from this morning”.

“Hamas has confirmed to Egyptian officials its commitment … to conducting the sixth exchange of prisoners on time, on Saturday, as soon as Israel honours its commitment,” another source told AFP.

US president Donald Trump had warned that “hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release “all” the hostages by then. If fighting resumes, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said, “the new Gaza war … will not end without the defeat of Hamas and the release of all the hostages”. “It will also allow the realisation of US president Trump’s vision for Gaza,” he added.

Trump caused global outcry with a proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and to move its 2.4 million residents to Egypt or Jordan.

Hamas says it does not want Gaza ceasefire to collapse

Hamas said on Thursday it did not want the Gaza ceasefire agreement to collapse, reports Reuters.

Mediators are exerting pressure for the deal to be fully implemented, ensure Israel abides by a humanitarian protocol and resume exchanges of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel on Saturday, Hamas said in a statement.

Israel has called up military reservists to brace for a possible re-eruption of war in Gaza if Hamas fails to meet a Saturday deadline to free further Israeli hostages.

Reporting from Rafah in southern Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum states that he can see “hundreds of UN trucks lined up” waiting for permission to enter Gaza.

The Al Jazeera news network has been banned from operating inside Israel by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Describing the situation as “fragile”, he reports:

A key component of the current ceasefire agreement is the delivery of humanitarian aid, including shelter materials such as tents and mobile houses that will accommodate thousands of displaced families who right now live on the remnants of their shattered houses.

This has been a key demand by Hamas, which has accused Israel of deliberately hindering the delivery of temporary shelters and the entry of heavy machinery.

The entry of the heavy machinery and the mobile houses will play a crucial role in stabilising the entire area. It will also help remove logistical and various challenges we can see on the ground.”

Release of three Israeli hostages on Saturday reportedly agreed

Haaretz reported that Palestinian sources said:

Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement over the next phase of the deal to take place this Saturday, in which three hostages will be released … [and] Israel will increase the entry of aid into the Strip, mainly consisting of tents, gas, and medical equipment.”

Opening summary

It has gone 10am in Gaza City, Tel Aviv and Cairo, and 11.30am in Tehran. Here are the headlines:

Arab mediators have been scrambling to save the Gaza ceasefire as the Israeli military bolsters troop and tank deployments to the strip’s periphery in advance of the possibility the truce breaks down this weekend.
Hamas unexpectedly announced on Monday that it was postponing the next planned release of three Israeli hostages over the weekend, citing alleged Israeli violations of the truce.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, warned on Wednesday that the country would resume its war in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold the ceasefire agreement and release Israeli hostages by Saturday. Some regional media sources on Thursday morning suggests the two sides had agreed that three hostages would now be released on Saturday.
Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah said on Wednesday Gaza should be rebuilt without displacing Palestinians, according to a readout of a call between the two leaders by the Egyptian presidency.
The US has authorised a “long term” Israeli troop presence in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli reports, while Israel has reportedly requested to keep its troops in multiple posts in southern Lebanon until 28 February. Israel had previously agreed to remove the troops before the end of January.
There are fears that a widely unnoticed displacement of Bedouin people by Israeli settlers has the aim of fragmenting the territory intended for a future Palestinian state.