Israel said a Hamas list naming four hostages to be freed violated the terms of the Gaza ceasefire, but their release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners was expected to proceed on Saturday.
Under the terms of the agreement, three soldiers and one civilian, all women, were due to be set free in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. However, all four women on the Hamas list – Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag – are soldiers.
Israel initially said it was considering its response, but the swap is expected to proceed. It will be the second exchange since the ceasefire came into effect last Sunday. Three female civilian hostages and 90 prisoners were released in the first swap.
Relatives of the hostages blocked Tel Aviv’s main Ayalon highway on Friday as The Hostages and Missing Families Forum implored the Israeli government and the Trump administration to ensure that the ceasefire and hostage deal will be completed in full, leaving none of the captives behind.
Under the ceasefire terms, the first of the more than one million displaced residents will be able to return to the northern Gaza Strip next week. US private security contractors are set to monitor vehicles of those returning from southern Gaza to their homes in the destroyed north after Israeli troops withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor, which divided the coastal Strip in two. However, many of the war refugees are expected to discover that their homes have been destroyed or are uninhabitable, with entire neighbourhoods in Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya reduced to rubble.
The United Nations says daily deliveries of humanitarian aid have increased tenfold since the ceasefire went into effect, surpassing the 600 lorries a day target set for the first seven weeks.
Israel launched the war following the Hamas attack on October 7th, 2023, when militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, more than 47,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to health authorities there.
This weekend also marks a significant date on Israel’s northern border. Under the terms of the Lebanon ceasefire agreement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are required to complete their withdrawal by Sunday. However, Israel announced on Friday that the military redeployment across the border will take more than the 60 days stated in the agreement.
According to Israel, its forces will remain beyond the deadline because “the ceasefire agreement has yet to be fully enforced by Lebanon”. It said the delay is fully co-ordinated with Washington.
Israel said the “IDF’s withdrawal is conditioned on the Lebanese army’s deployment across the country’s south and effectively and fully enforcing the deal, as Hizbullah withdrawals north of the Litani River”.
Hizbullah’s leader, Naim Qassem, accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations. The Shia group has warned that failure to comply with Sunday’s withdrawal deadline would cause the ceasefire to collapse.
Former Israeli defence minister and current opposition politician Avigdor Lieberman said it was forbidden for the IDF to withdraw from Lebanon on Sunday. “The Lebanese side has violated the agreement,” he said.
In the West Bank, an IDF operation continued in the Jenin refugee camp and the surrounding area, where at least 13 people have been killed in what Israel has described as a major sweep targeting militant groups. Most residents have fled the camp to avoid the fighting, with about 2,500 remaining.
An official from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights office expressed deep concern over the Israeli operation, warning that it could endanger the Gaza ceasefire.
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