Hamas 'reaffirms its commitment' to release Israeli hostages as planned

Hamas said on Thursday it will continue implementing the Gaza ceasefire deal, including a hostage exchange within the agreed timeframe.

In a statement, the Palestinian militant group said: "Hamas reaffirms its commitment to implementing the agreement as signed, including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timeline."

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 agreed under the deal to free three more hostages on Saturday but said this week that it was suspending the handover over what it said were Israeli violations of the terms.

Reports on Thursday morning suggested that an agreement had been reached to continue the ceasefire, although mediators are yet to confirm this. 

Israel has called up military reservists to prepare for a possible re-eruption of the war in the Gaza Strip if the Palestinian militant group Hamas fails to meet a Saturday deadline to free further Israeli hostages.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded by saying all hostages must be freed by noon on Saturday or he would "let hell break out". Netanyahu said his country would resume "intense fighting" if Hamas did not meet the deadline.

A Hamas delegation led by the group's Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, met Egyptian security officials on Wednesday to try to break the impasse. A Palestinian official close to the talks told Reuters that mediators Egypt and Qatar were trying to find solutions to prevent a slide back into fighting.

Construction vehicles and aid

Egyptian security sources told Reuters they expected heavy construction equipment to enter on Thursday and if that happened then Hamas would release hostages on Saturday.

The talks in Cairo have focused on issues such as Israel's allowing the entry of mobile homes, tents, medical and fuel supplies, and heavy machinery needed for the removal of rubble, Hamas said.

Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, told Reuters only 73,000 of the required 200,000 tents had arrived in the enclave, while no mobile homes had been permitted so far.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency overseeing aid deliveries into Gaza, said 400,000 tents had so far been allowed in, while countries meant to supply mobile homes had not yet sent them.

International aid officials confirmed that aid was coming in despite considerable logistical problems, though they cautioned that far more was needed.

Adding to doubts this week about the ceasefire deal has been hostile reaction in the Arab world to Trump's comments that Palestinians should be moved from Gaza to allow it to be developed as a waterfront property under U.S. control.

Under the ceasefire, Hamas has so far released 16 Israeli hostages from an initial group of 33 children, women and older men agreed to be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in the first stage of a multi-phase deal.

Hamas also freed five Thai hostages in an unscheduled release.

Negotiations on a second phase of the agreement, which mediators had hoped would agree the release of the remaining hostages as well as the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, were supposed to be already underway in Doha but an Israeli team returned home on Monday, two days after arriving.

The threat to cancel the 42-day ceasefire that formed the basis of the agreement has drawn thousands of Israeli protesters onto the streets this week, calling on the government to stick with the deal in order to bring the remaining hostages home.