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Hamas is expected to convey Israel the names of four hostages to be released on Saturday as part of the gas cease agreement.
It is believed that they will be soldiers and civilians, all women.
They will be released in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
This will be the second exchange, as the ceasefire came into force last Sunday. Three hostages and 90 prisoners were released in the first swap.
The ceasefire stopped the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 returned to gas as hostages.
More than 47,200 Palestinians, most civilians, were killed in Israel’s offensive, says the Ministry of Health Hamas.
Hamas is expected to provide information about the rest of 26 hostages that should be released over the next five weeks.
This includes a Bibaban family – two parents and two children, one of whom, Kfir, was 10 months old when he was captured and is the youngest hostage. It is unclear whether this information will include names or just the number of living or dead hostages.
Prisoners to be released are a more serious category than those who have been released in the first exchange. They will include those who have killed, some of which are serving more than 15 years.
Israel insisted that no one participated in the attacks on October 7, will be released.
The cease transaction was reached after months of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas led by the US, Qatar and Egypt.
It will be implemented in three stages, and the second stage should start six weeks in the truce. In the first stage, about 1900 Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for 33 hostages. Israeli troops will also abandon the positions in Gaza, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians will be able to return to the districts from which they escaped or were forced.
The ceasefire is intended for the permanent end of the war in Gaza.
Ninety-one hostages, adopted on October 7, 2023, are still held in gas. Israel believes that fifty -seven of them remain alive. The other three – two of which are ten or more.
