
Hamas issued an official statement on Monday evening, updating that the next phase of the hostage release will be on Saturday, not Sunday as had been reported earlier.
The official statement comes in response to a report which stated that Hamas was delaying the next release until Sunday, claiming that Israel had delayed the release of terrorists this past Sunday night as part of the deal.
After the release of Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, there remain 94 hostages in Hamas captivity. Over the next 41 days, another 30 hostages are expected to be released.
On Saturday, four more hostages will be released from captivity, at least some of whom will be soldiers. At this stage, seven women remain in Hamas captivity - civilians Arbel Yehoud and Shiri Bibas, and soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag, Agam Berger, and Naama Levy.
It is not yet known in which phase of the first stage Shiri Bibas will be released along with her children, Kfir and Ariel. The names of the hostages to be released in each phase are supposed to be provided one day before the release.
On day 42 of the deal, 14 hostages are expected to be released. Meanwhile, negotiations regarding the next stages of the deal are scheduled to start on day 16. After the first phase of the deal, in which a total of 33 hostages will be released, 64 hostages will remain in Hamas captivity.
At the same time, terrorist prisoners will be released by Israel. In total, during the first stage of the deal, Israel is expected to release, in exchange for 33 hostages, nearly 2,000 terrorists - including 1,000 Gazans who were captured in Gaza after October 7, 2023, and who were not involved in the Hamas massacre, alongside about 290 murderous terrorists who were sentenced to life imprisonment.