Thousands of Palestinians have made their way back to their homes during the first phase of the ceasefire, which has so far seen 13 Israeli captives freed as well as over 500 Palestinian prisoners [Getty/file photo]
Hamas is set to release three Israeli captives on Saturday in exchange for 183 Palestinians prisoners held by Israel in the fifth exchange of a fragile Gaza ceasefire.
The exchange comes despite uproar in the region over a shock proposal by US President Donald Trump to forcibly clear out the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian inhabitants and for the United States to take over the territory, turning into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.
Among the 183 Palestinians set to be released include 111 taken from Gaza during 15 and a half months of war. At least 42 Palestinians will be released to the occupied West Bank, while seven will be exiled out of the Palestinian territory, according to Hamas.
The list of the Palestinian prisoners set to be freed also include 18 serving life sentences and 54 serving long sentences.
Meanwhile, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed to AFP on Friday it had received a list of captives for release from Gaza after Hamas published three names of those set to be released.
The three men are Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, Hamas said. Their names were confirmed by Netanyahu’s office.
Netanyahu, who is in Washington, will “monitor this phase of the hostages’ release from the control centre of the delegation in the US”, the premier’s office said in a separate statement.
‘Now is the time’
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged the government on Friday to stick with the Gaza truce, even as Trump’s comments sparked uproar across the Middle East and beyond.
“An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home,” the Israeli campaign group said in a statement.
Israel and Hamas have completed four swaps under the first stage of the ceasefire agreement.
The upcoming exchange is the latest in a series of swaps that have so far released 13 Israeli captives as well as five Thai workers, and 583 Palestinian prisoners and detainees – many of them held without charge or trial.
The ceasefire, in effect since 19 January and mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 33 hostages during the first 42-day phase of the agreement, and more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees.
Negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.
The second stage aims to secure the release of more hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war, which has killed over 61,000 Palestinians as thousands of bodies continue to be recovered following the 19 January ceasefire.
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