JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas will merchandise 3 Israelis, including 2 women and an 80-year-old man, arsenic good arsenic 5 Thai nationals during nan adjacent hostage release, slated for Thursday, officials from Israel and Hamas said arsenic a tenuous ceasefire betwixt nan sides moves ahead.
The officials named nan Israeli women arsenic Arbel Yehoud, 29, Agam Berger, 19, and nan man arsenic Gadi Moses, 80. The officials, who said connected Wednesday connected information of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to nan media, said nan hostages’ families had approved nan publication of their names.
The identities of nan Thai nationals were not instantly known. A number of overseas workers were taken captive on pinch dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught that group disconnected nan warfare successful Gaza.
The expected merchandise will support up nan momentum of nan vulnerable ceasefire betwixt Israel and nan militant Hamas group that began earlier this period and which paused nan 15-monthlong warfare successful Gaza. As portion of nan deal, Hamas is releasing hostages successful phases successful speech for state for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hostages and prisoners will beryllium released doubly this week

Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture confederation via Getty Images
The woody had been negotiated for months nether nan Biden management but was yet sealed aft President Donald Trump threatened location would beryllium “hell to pay” if nan hostages weren’t returned.
Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, was successful Israel connected Wednesday and met pinch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads to Washington adjacent week to meet Trump — nan first overseas leader to meet nan U.S. president successful his 2nd word successful office.
Thursday’s merchandise wasn’t primitively scheduled but came arsenic a consequence of a standoff betwixt Israel and Hamas complete nan identities of nan hostages released complete nan weekend.
Israel had demanded that Yehoud, a civilian, beryllium portion of that group and erstwhile she wasn’t freed, Israel held up nan activity of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians looking to return to what is near of their homes successful nan war-battered northbound of Gaza.
International mediation efforts brought astir nan further merchandise connected Thursday and cleared nan measurement for Palestinians to watercourse north. Another merchandise is slated for Saturday, which Netanyahu’s agency said would free antheral hostages. Dozens of Palestinian prisoners are group to beryllium freed some Thursday and Saturday.
Egypt rejects Trump’s proposal that it return successful Palestinians

Nasser Nasser via Associated Press
The region successful fighting has exposed nan vastness of nan demolition caused to nan municipality scenery successful Gaza, prompting a proposal from Trump complete nan play that neighboring Jordan and Egypt return successful displaced Palestinians.
Earlier Wednesday, Egypt, an important U.S. ally, rejected Trump’s suggestion, defying a U.S. president who has shown small patience for dissent from world partners.
Over nan weekend, Trump told reporters that Egypt and Jordan should return successful Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, an thought that has agelong been rejected by those countries and nan Palestinians themselves because they opportunity it would undermine nan conception of Palestinian statehood and foment instability successful their states.
Trump connected Saturday said he would impulse Egypt and Jordan to judge group from Gaza truthful that “we conscionable cleanable retired that full thing,” calling nan territory “a demolition site.”
Trump said he would impulse nan leaders of some countries, which are cardinal friends to nan U.S. successful nan Middle East and awesome recipients of American assistance successful nan region, to judge nan idea, saying nan resettlement could beryllium impermanent aliases agelong term.
It is not clear if Trump could unit Egypt aliases Jordan to agree, but he has successful his first days successful agency and connected nan run threatened hefty tariffs against American allies to get his way.
In his first nationalist comments since Trump floated nan proposal Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi called nan thought “an injustice” which Egypt would not beryllium statement to.
In a news convention successful Cairo pinch nan visiting Kenyan president, el-Sissi said nan transportation of Palestinians “can’t ever beryllium tolerated aliases allowed.”
“The solution to this rumor is nan two-state solution. It is nan constitution of a Palestinian state,” he said. “The solution is not to region nan Palestinian group from their place.”
He said his authorities would activity pinch nan Trump management to execute bid “that is based connected nan two-state solution” betwixt Israel and nan Palestinians.
Palestinians fearfulness they whitethorn ne'er return if they leave

Abdel Kareem Hana via Associated Press
The war, group disconnected by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks connected Israel, has killed much than 47,000 Palestinians, astir of them women and children according to section wellness authorities, who do not separate betwixt civilians and combatants successful their count. The fighting has obliterated immense areas of Gaza, displacing immoderate 90% of its 2.3 cardinal population, often aggregate times.
During its attack, Hamas took 250 group hostage and killed astir 1,200.
The taxable of displacement has been recurrent successful Palestinian history and nan thought of staying patient connected one’s onshore is an integral constituent of nan Palestinian identity. Palestinians fearfulness that if they time off their land, they whitethorn ne'er beryllium allowed to return.
Those fears person been compounded by far-right members of Israel’s authorities who support rebuilding Jewish settlements successful Gaza, from which Israel withdrew troops and settlers from successful 2005. Netanyahu says that thought is unrealistic.
Egypt and Jordan person each made bid pinch Israel but support nan creation of a Palestinian authorities successful nan occupied West Bank, Gaza and eastbound Jerusalem. They fearfulness that nan imperishable displacement of Gaza’s organization could make that impossible.
Egypt and Jordan person billions of dollars successful American assistance each year. Military assistance to Egypt and Israel was exempted from a U.S. backing freeze to world assistance programs.
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Magdy reported from Cairo.