Israel announced on Friday that it had received the names of three hostages to be released Saturday by Hamas in the sixth hostage-prisoner swap this weekend, following a crisis in the ceasefire that threatened to reignite conflict in Gaza.
The three Israelis set to be freed on Saturday are Israeli-Argentinian Iair Horn, 46, Israeli-Russian Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, and Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, according to the Hostages Families Forum.
Hamas confirmed that three Israeli hostages would be released this weekend, expressing gratitude to Qatar and Egypt for their mediation efforts.
In return, Israel is expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees on Saturday, as reported by Hamas.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) voiced concern on Friday about the condition of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas prisoner swaps.
Israel stated that it would resume fighting on Saturday unless hostages were freed, leaving ambiguity over whether this applied to the three hostages scheduled for release or all remaining hostages, as U.S. President Donald Trump had demanded earlier in the week.
21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the truce, although the ceasefire had nearly collapsed in recent days.
On Monday, Hamas announced it would delay the release of the next group of Israeli hostages scheduled for this Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the first phase of the ceasefire deal that went into effect on January 19.
