The three hostages due to be released by Hamas on Saturday as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel have been named.
Iair Horn, 46, US-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, and Russian-Israeli Alexandre (Sasha) Troufanov, 29 are set to be freed after 498 days in captivity.
All three men were taken from the same hard-hit kibbutz on 7 October, in the Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
The news comes after fears the ceasefire deal could be heading for collapse.
Hamas had threatened to delay Saturday’s hostage release, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the truce.
The group said Israel wasn’t allowing enough shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble into Gaza.
In response, Israel, with the backing of US President Donald Trump, had threatened to renew its offensive if hostages were not freed.
But after intense efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to keep last month’s US-backed agreement on track, Hamas said on Thursday it would go ahead with the planned release of hostages this weekend.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel accepted the list.
Hamas said Israel was expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange.
The ceasefire began on 19 January, bringing a pause to 16 months of war in Gaza.
In its first stage, which will last 42 days, Hamas is meant to free 33 Israeli hostages taken during its attack on 7 October 2023.
So far it has released 21 hostages – 16 Israelis and five Thai – in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli custody.
Last week, the release of three Israeli men gave rise to concerns about their gaunt appearance, and what that said about the conditions they had been kept in during 16 months in captivity.
Read more:
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The Israel-Hamas war in numbers
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More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
At least 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage when Hamas launched its massacre in Israel on 7 October 2023.
