A senior Hamas official told AFP on Saturday that the release of 48 hostages, mostly Israelis, held in Gaza is scheduled to begin on Monday morning.
“According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning as agreed, and there are no new developments on this matter,” Hamas representative Osama Hamdan said.
Hamdan added that militants on the ground have yet to update the group’s leadership on the logistics of the handover.
Under the first stage of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal, Israel is expected to release around 2,000 Palestinian detainees once the hostages are freed.
Hamdan noted that the list of Palestinian prisoners is still being negotiated. “The process has not been finalised. Israel is still refusing to release certain names, but the delegation is working hard to secure their freedom,” he said, adding that the final list should be ready by Saturday night or Sunday morning.
He also confirmed that the agreement includes provisions to open five humanitarian aid entry points and to reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt “for individuals in both directions starting next Wednesday.”
Meanwhile, Italy announced that the Rafah crossing will reopen on Tuesday under the supervision of an EU monitoring mission, with police officers from Italy, Spain, and France participating.
