Hamas is expected to provide Israel with the names of four hostages to be released on Saturday, according to the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Reports indicate that the hostages will be soldiers and civilians, all women. They will be freed in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
This will be the second swap since the ceasefire came into effect last Sunday. In the first exchange, three hostages and 90 prisoners were released.
The ceasefire ended the fighting that began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in around 1,200 deaths and 251 people taken hostage in Gaza, according to the BBC.
Over 47,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.
Hamas is also expected to release information about 26 remaining hostages to be freed over the next five weeks, including the Bibas family—two parents and two children, one of whom, Kfir, was 10 months old when taken captive and is the youngest hostage by age.
Israel has insisted that anyone involved in the October 7 attacks will not be released.
The ceasefire agreement was reached after months of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt.
The ceasefire will be implemented in three phases, with the second phase set to begin six weeks after the agreement.
Approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners will be released in the first phase in exchange for 33 hostages.
Israeli forces will also begin withdrawing from positions in Gaza, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians will be able to return to areas from which they had been forced to flee.
