The Japan Times - Hamas to free three Israeli hostages in latest Gaza swap

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that after completing the swap, an Israeli delegation will head to Doha for further negotiations on the ceasefire.

The latest exchange comes amid backlash over US President Donald Trump's proposal for a US takeover of Gaza, which has triggered an uproar across the region and beyond.

The three men set to be released on Saturday are Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami, according to Hamas. Their names were confirmed by Netanyahu's office.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group said Israel will free 183 prisoners in Saturday's swap, 111 of whom were Gazans detained after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war.

After sparking widespread condemnation with his comments earlier in the week, Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that he was in no hurry to advance his controversial plan for Gaza.

The plan proposes relocating Gaza's Palestinian inhabitants out of the territory and placing the war-battered coastal region under US control.

"There's absolutely no rush," Trump said during his meeting with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Since his initial declaration, Israel has ordered its military to prepare for the "voluntary" relocation of Gazans, while Hamas has rejected Trump's plan as "absolutely unacceptable."

Israel and Hamas have completed four swaps under the first stage of the ceasefire agreement.

Palestinian militants have so far freed 18 hostages in exchange for around 600 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.

The ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 33 hostages during the first 42-day phase of the agreement.

- Backlash -

Freed Israeli hostage, Yarden Bibas, issued a plea to Netanyahu, urging him to bring back his wife and two children still held in Gaza.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu, I'm now addressing you with my own words... bring my family back, bring my friends back, bring everyone home," Bibas said in his first public message following his release.

Hamas previously said his wife and two sons -- the youngest hostages -- were dead, but Israel has not confirmed their deaths.

In an interview given to Israeli broadcaster Channel 14, Netanyahu said that it was his "goal to realise" the first stage of the ceasefire.

"As for the next phase, it is much more complex but I am hopeful that we'll be able to achieve it," he said.

His office said later on Friday that an Israeli delegation will depart to Doha after completing Saturday's swap.

Despite an international backlash -- and initial backtracking by members of his administration -- Trump had doubled down on his statement earlier this week.

"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting," he posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.

"No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!"

After Trump first floated the idea, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the military to prepare a plan to allow the "voluntary departure" of Gazans "to any country willing to accept them".

Israel's military said Friday the head of the US Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, met Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi this week for talks on the "regional strategic situation".

- 'Unacceptable' -

Netanyahu also voiced support for Trump's plan, announced at a joint press conference, calling it "the first original idea to be raised in years".

However, Hamas condemned the remarks as "absolutely unacceptable".

"Trump's remarks about Washington taking control of Gaza amount to an open declaration of intent to occupy the territory," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.

"Gaza is for its people and they will not leave."

Mediator Egypt has also warned that Israeli support for Trump's plan "weakens and destroys the negotiations on a ceasefire agreement and incites a return to fighting".

The second stage of the ceasefire aims to secure the release of more hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war, which began on October 7, 2023 with Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel.

During the attack, militants took 251 hostages to Gaza. Seventy-six remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliation has killed at least 47,583 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

K.Hashimoto--JT