Hamas says hostage release to go ahead amid fears fragile ceasefire deal will collapse

Mediators have been scrambling to salvage the ceasefire after the militant group said it would not hand over three more hostages this weekend as planned. Mediators had scrambled to salvage the floundering truce ahead of the deadline this weekend when the next round of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees were slated to be released. The Palestinian militant group said earlier said it would not hand over the next three captives, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the truce, including shelling the territory and not allowing in shelters and humanitarian aid.

Israel’s leaders hit back with counterclaims and, together with close ally Donald Trump, threatened to pull out of the agreement, to “open the gates of hell”, and to start a “new Gaza war… different in intensity.” Israel deployed additional troops to its border area with Gaza and cancelled leave for combat soldiers. On Thursday Hamas said Egyptian and Qatari mediators affirmed that they would work to "remove all hurdles", and that the group would implement the ceasefire deal. The statement indicated three more Israeli hostages would be freed on Saturday, adding “the talks were characterised by a positive spirit”.

Earlier, a Hamas official told The Independent they were working with Egyptian and Qatari mediators to get guarantees from Israel that shelter and aid materials outlined in the agreement would enter Gaza. Egypt's state-run Cairo TV, which is close to the country's security services, later played footage showing trucks carrying temporary housing and bulldozers on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing with Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from Israel. Families of the hostages still held inside Gaza said they were “terrified” for their loved ones if the deal falls through, especially after the three hostages released last week emerged from captivity emaciated and ill. “The waiting is unbearable. Each Saturday brings renewed anguish as we hope to hear news of my grandfather's release,” said Daniel Lifshitz, whose relative Oded, 84, is among those slated to be released in the next few weeks. Oded, a retired journalist and peace activist with London-based family, was seized from Nir Oz on 7 October alongside his wife Yocheved, who was later released in a previous deal.

“My grandmother, still struggling to recover from her own time in captivity, cannot truly heal until she knows her husband's fate. We continue our desperate wait for any news about my grandfather. The silence is deafening.”. Dalia Cusnir, whose two brothers-in-law, Eitan and Iair Horn, both Argentine citizens, were also seized from Nir Oz said the family is “terrified” about the conditions the hostages are being held in.

“We all knew that they are being starved and tortured, but seeing Ohad [Ben-Ami], Or [Levi] and Eli [Sharabi] was shocking. It made us understand that every second is a second of hell for them.”. Iair, 46, who suffers from diabetes, is on the list of those to be released in the first six-week phase of the deal, but his brother Eitan, 38, who also has a pre-existing health condition, is among the names to be released only in the second phase. Dalia and her family are concerned that the first phase will not last, let alone negotiations for another round.

“The danger of going back to war for the hostages might be a deadly decision... It's a matter of life and death,” she said, adding that her husband had been “destroyed” by the horror of his siblings being taken on 7 October. “We have 76 people who are screaming to us from the bottom of the worst place on earth, hell, literally hell.”. “We believe that the ceasefire and ending the war is good for both sides. I also want the Gaza kids to be able to dream for a better future, the same way my kids do.”.

Hamas seized 251 people in southern Israel and killed over 1,000 more during their deadly attack on southern Israel on 7 October, according to Israeli tallies. At least 76 remain in Gaza, of that, just over half are still believed to be alive, according to the families of the hostages. Under the first phase of the ceasefire deal, Hamas and Israel agreed that 33 hostages would be released in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five exchanges under this deal.

The ceasefire has also brought much-needed respite to Palestinian civilians in Gaza: Israel’s ferocious bombardment of Gaza has killed over 48,000 people and displaced more than 90 percent of the 2 million population, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The besieged strip has been pushed to the brink of famine, and a recent United Nations damage assessment showed that just clearing away the more than 50 million tonnes of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel's bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion.