Hamas says trio of Israeli hostages to be released as scheduled on Saturday

Hamas said Thursday it would release three more Israeli hostages as planned, paving the way toward resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas had threatened to delay the next release of captives, accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to allow in tents and shelters, among other alleged violations of the truce. Israel, with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, had threatened to renew its offensive if hostages were not freed.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on Hamas’ announcement, but it should allow the ceasefire to continue for now, though the future of the truce remains in doubt .

Hamas said its delegation held talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and was in contact with Qatar’s prime minister about bringing into Gaza more shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble — its key demand in recent days. It said in a statement that the mediators had pledged to “remove all hurdles.”

The Palestinian militant group Hamas signalled on Thursday that a crisis threatening to unravel the Gaza ceasefire deal could be avoided despite uncertainty over the number of hostages due to be released on Saturday and disagreements over aid supplies.

The 42-day ceasefire has appeared close to failure this week amid accusations on both sides of violations to the agreement sealed last month with the help of Egyptian and Qatari mediators and U.S. support.

Hamas said it did not want the deal to collapse, though it rejected what it called the “language of threats and intimidation” from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump. Those leaders said the ceasefire should be cancelled if the hostages are not released.