Hamas backs down over Israeli hostage deal threat amid fears ceasefire will collapse
13 February 2025, 10:37 | Updated: 13 February 2025, 13:16
Hamas has said it will release Israeli hostages as planned amid fears the Gaza ceasefire will collapse.
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Egyptian and Qatari mediators are working to "remove all hurdles", Hamas said in a statement.
The group confirmed that it would implement the ceasefire deal, with three more hostages being freed on Saturday as planned.
It comes as the 42-day ceasefire has appeared close to failure this week, with accusations on both sides of violations to the agreement.
Hamas said on Monday that it would not hand over the hostages this weekend, claiming Israel had violated ceasefire conditions.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu hit back at the militant group, threatening to end the ceasefire.
International Correspondent says the Hamas-Israel ceasefire deal is 'frayed'
Sharing a video message on Tuesday, he said: "The military will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated".
Following the release of the clip, Donald Trump said Hamas must meet the Saturday deadline or "all bets are off".
Military reservists were called up to prepare for a possible re-eruption of the war.
Israeli minister Avi Dichter, a member of Netanyahu's security cabinet, said on Thursday that he did not believe Hamas would be able to get out of the agreement.
"There's a deal, they won't be able to give anything less than what is in the deal," he said. "I don't believe that Hamas can behave otherwise."
Despite rejecting "language of threats and intimidation", Hamas said it did not want the deal to collapse.
"Accordingly, Hamas reaffirms its commitment to implementing the agreement as signed, including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timeline," Hamas said.
