Israel’s military says it has completed first phase of withdrawal, ahead of Monday peace summit in Egypt
Hamas will begin releasing Israeli hostages held in Gaza tomorrow morning, a senior official from the Palestinian militant group has told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency, as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold.
Israel’s military says it has completed the first phase of its withdrawal from Gaza, after the ceasefire, brokered by the US, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, came into effect on Friday morning.
Under its terms, Hamas has until 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday to release all 20 living hostages. This will be in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
“According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning as agreed,” Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP.
