Israel expects Hamas to free three hostages Saturday, asks for more living captives

Hamas confirms it will release three hostages Saturday as Israel pushes for all remaining living captives to be freed.

By AMICHAI STEIN FEBRUARY 13, 2025 19:22 Updated: FEBRUARY 13, 2025 19:23

Members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, attend the funeral of the bodies of Al-Qassam fighters who were killed during the Israeli war on Gaza. (photo credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)

Israeli officials expect Hamas to deliver on Friday a list of three hostages to be released on Saturday, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. Qatari Prime Minister Al-Thani is expected to send the list to Mossad chief David Barnea.

The release that is expected during the weekend follows Hamas' threat earlier this week to withhold the hostages unless Israel fulfills its humanitarian obligations. Hamas claims that Israel has not allowed all the agreed-upon humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip as stipulated in the agreement.

On Thursday, Hamas stated that Israel had agreed to allow pre-fabricated housing and heavy equipment for rubble removal into Gaza. However, Prime Minister’s spokesperson Omer Dostri dismissed these reports as "fake news" in a post on X.

Later, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that, "as of now," nothing will enter through the Rafah border crossing, but "things might change in the coming days." The sources added that any equipment and housing units if allowed entry, would come through an Israeli border crossing, where they would be inspected and cleared by security personnel before reaching Gaza.

Hamas also stated on Thursday that it remains committed to implementing the Gaza ceasefire deal. The group clarified that it would continue releasing hostages "as scheduled," meaning only three hostages on Saturday as the original deal said —contrary to US President Donald Trump's demand to release "all of the hostages" and some Israeli officials’ calls for Hamas to release all nine remaining hostages who are alive and supposed to be freed during the 42-day phase of the deal. In not, both Trump and Israeli officials threatened, "the gates of hell will open."

Protesters hold cutout pictures of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel February 13, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)

Hostages are priority

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to arrive in the region, including Israel, starting February 15. A diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post that there is also a possibility that Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, will visit the region in the coming days.

Two Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post that the current goal is to accelerate the release of the remaining six living hostages who were supposed to be freed in phase one after Saturday. "After seeing the images of the hostages’ condition last week, we need to get them out as fast as possible," said one source. Another objective for Israel is to expand the list of hostages released in phase one.

The current agreement says Hamas is to release 33 hostages – some of them are dead, but there are attempts to change the number. "Every hostage is a 'humanitarian case'—the criterion for those being released in phase one," said the source. "Everyone is waiting to see what happens on Saturday," an Israeli source summarized.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Thursday with senior defense officials at the Southern Command to discuss operational plans for various scenarios. This comes as IDF forces have gathered near the Gaza border in recent days.