Hamas says it will free 4 slain hostages tonight; report says this will happen at 11 p.m.

After an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the handover of the bodies of the slain hostages will likely happen tonight, Hamas’s military wing confirms this in a statement and Qatar’s Al Jazeera network, which has close ties to the terror group, reports that the release is expected to happen tonight at 11 p.m. Israel time.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-affiliated Prisoners’ Information Office in Gaza says that the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis is preparing to receive freed Palestinian prisoners, and they are “expected to arrive between 10 p.m. and midnight.”

Hamas has been expected to hand over Tsahi Idan, Ohad Yahalomi, Itzik Elgarat and Shlomo Mantzur, the last four abductees included in the first phase of the hostage deal, which ends on Saturday.

The terror group’s statement names the four hostages it will return, but Israeli officials ask media outlets not to publish them until the families are informed.

The terror group has claimed the release will happen tomorrow and that it will happen simultaneously with Israel freeing 602 Palestinian security prisoners whose release Israel has been holding up since Saturday to protest Hamas’s propaganda displays and demeaning ceremonies during the handovers of hostages.

However, an Israeli official tells Channel 13 that Israel will not release prisoners until it verifies that Hamas has returned the slain hostages it is required to.