Hamas said Tuesday it will release four women hostages in the next swap with Israel under the terms of a fragile truce intended to bring to an end to 15 months of war in Gaza.
US President Donald Trump, who claimed credit for the hard-won ceasefire agreement, said he doubted the deal would hold as he took office for a historic second term.
Desperately needed humanitarian aid has begun to flow into Gaza as Palestinians displaced by the war headed back to devastated areas of the territory, hopeful the agreement would hold.
The ceasefire took effect on Sunday, and saw Israel and Hamas conduct their first exchange of hostages for prisoners.
Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP that four Israeli women hostages will be freed on Saturday in exchange for a second group of Palestinian prisoners.
In Washington, newly-inaugurated Trump cast doubt on whether the truce would hold.
“That’s not our war; it’s their war. But I’m not confident,” he said.
Trump had claimed credit for the three-phase ceasefire agreement announced ahead of his return to the White House by Qatar and the United States, following months of fruitless negotiations under his predecessor Joe Biden.
Qatar was confident in the ceasefire deal it helped mediate “when it comes to the language of the deal, when it comes to the fact that we hashed out all the major issues on the table”, its foreign minister spokesman said on Tuesday.
The new US president has made clear he would support Israel, and in one of his first acts as president, he revoked sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank imposed by the Biden administration over attacks against Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his return, while far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich thanked him for lifting the sanctions.
“I look forward to working with you to return the remaining hostages, to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and end its political rule in Gaza, and to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said.
“Mr. President, your unwavering and uncompromising support for the State of Israel is a testament to your deep connection to the Jewish people and our historical right to our land,” Smotrich wrote on X.
– ‘We will rebuild’ –
Displaced Gazan Ghadeer Abdul Rabbo, 30, told AFP she hopes that “with or without Trump”, the ceasefire will hold and world governments will help “maintain this calm, because we are afraid”.
If all goes to plan, during the initial, 42-day phase of the truce that began Sunday, a total of 33 hostages are to be returned from Gaza in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians.
Over those six weeks, the parties are meant to negotiate a permanent ceasefire.
In Rafah, in southern Gaza, Ismail Madi said that “we have endured immense hardships, but we will stay here. We will rebuild this place.”
Three Israeli hostages, all women, were reunited with their families on Sunday after more than 15 months in captivity.
Hours later, 90 Palestinian prisoners were released from an Israeli jail.
In Israel, there was elation as Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher returned home and appeared to be in good health.
“In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back,” Damari’s mother Mandy said on Monday, adding that her daughter was “doing much better than any of us could have expected” even after losing two fingers.
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