Senior Hamas official says ‘high chance’ six living hostages will be freed on Saturday

18 February 2025, 11:15 am

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Hostages L to R: Sagui Dekel-Chen, Iair Horn and Sasha Troufanov are flanked onstage by Hamas and Islamic Jihad gunmen before being handed over to the Red Cross, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, February 15, 2025. (Eyad Baba / AFP)

A senior Hamas official tells the Ynet news site that there is a “high chance” that the terror group will free six living hostages on Saturday.

“There are negotiations and it depends on the price Israel will pay,” the unnamed official says.

“The demands at the moment are that Israel agrees to enter talks for the second phase [of the hostage deal] and give guarantees on the humanitarian issues, allowing in mobile homes and heavy [construction] equipment,” the official says.

Hamas is set to release four bodies on Thursday and three living hostages on Saturday under the agreement, but Israel has been pushing to get more live hostages released as soon as possible, especially given the poor physical condition of some of the hostages released in recent weeks.