Hamas confirms: Hostages will be released by Monday morning
Top Hamas official Osama Hamdan confirmed to AFP that the release of the 48 hostages will begin by Monday morning; five crossings are expected to open for the entry of 400 trucks with humanitarian aid
Hamas leader Osama Hamdan was interviewed on Saturday by the AFP news agency, also confirming that the release of 48 hostages, both living and dead, will begin on Monday morning.
Al-Arabiya reported on Sunday that estimates suggest the hostage release will be completed on Monday at dawn.
“According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning as agreed, and there are no new developments on this matter,” Osama Hamdan says in an interview with AFP.
Following the return of the hostages, Israel will release about 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners, according to the terms of the first stage of a ceasefire deal signed by the two parties under U.S. mediation.
Five crossings are expected to open for the entry of humanitarian aid as part of the agreement, Hamdan said, adding that the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will be reopened "in both directions next Wednesday."
According to the report, 400 trucks with various humanitarian aid are expected to enter Gaza already Sunday morning, from the Rafah crossing to the Kerem Shalom and Auja crossings, as preparation for their entry into Gaza.
90 trucks have already crossed from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to the Kerem Shalom and Auja crossings, as preparation for their entry into the Strip.
Hamdan added that fighters from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades did not notify the Hamas leadership about the procedural arrangements for transferring the Palestinian prisoners, "including the issue of determining the location."
He explained, saying, "We were told that matters have not yet been finalized and that there are several names to which Israel has not responded regarding their release, but the negotiating delegation is still making efforts to achieve this release." He confirmed that the lists are supposed to be finalized by today.
He also said "Hamas anticipates that the second stage of the negotiations will be 'more difficult.'"
Meanwhile, Egypt "expressed its willingness to participate in security arrangements in the Gaza Strip within the framework of the U.N., under the auspices of the Security Council, and under the direct supervision of the UN."
Well-informed sources told the newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Cairo clearly conveyed this position during intensive consultations and diplomatic contacts in recent days with Washington, Doha, and Tel Aviv, as well as with Arab and European parties involved in the arrangements following the first stage of the deal.
The sources noted that Cairo emphasized that the need for an international security presence or monitoring in Gaza should arise from a binding U.N. resolution, and not from bilateral understandings or unilateral arrangements, and that this condition represents the basis of the Egyptian position.