Latest news and live updates as six Israelis are set to be released in exchange for Palestinian detainees and prisoners as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

Hamas freed the first two of six Israeli hostages due to be released Saturday even as heightened tension between the adversaries clouded the future of the fragile ceasefire deal. The two hostages — Tal Shoham,

The exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel appeared likely to go ahead, despite Israeli anger over Hamas’s handover of a misidentified body.

Hamas freed two hostages and was set to release four more from Gaza on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, after Israel confirmed that a body handed over hours earlier was that of hostage Shiri Bibas.

Hamas freed the first two of six Israeli hostages due to be released on Saturday even as heightened tension between the adversaries clouded the future of the fragile ceasefire deal.

Avera Mengistu, an Ethiopian-born Israeli, was detained in 2014 after crossing into Gaza on his own.

Israeli hostages Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham were released in Rafah. Four more hostages are set to be released Saturday in the largest swap under January’s ceasefire agreement.

Hamas is in the process of releasing six Israeli hostages in Gaza – the final living captives whom the warring sides agreed would be released when a ceasefire began last month.

Hamas is preparing to release a total of six living hostages in two separate locations of the Gaza Strip -- the city of Rafah and the Nuseirat refugee camp.

In the second phase of the deal, Hamas is supposed to hand over all the remaining hostages in Gaza and Israel on the other hand is supposed to end the war. However, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Ne

Hamas on Thursday put on a macabre handover ceremony in central Gaza to return the bodies of four Israeli hostages taken on October 7, 2023.