Israel and Hamas were set to exchange more prisoners and hostages on Saturday, the second day of a four-day truce in fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The exchange between the Israel Defense Forces and the militant group is expected to take place around 4 p.m. Saturday. It will involve Israeli citizens kidnapped during the attacks by Hamas on October 7 and Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Egyptian security forces, into whose hands Hamas is expected to release the Israeli hostages, said they had received a list of 14 names of Israeli women and children, Reuters news agency reported. Haaretz newspaper reported that Israeli prison services received a list of 42 Palestinian prisoners to be released. Al Jazeera television reported the same figures.
“Another 220 people are still held by Hamas,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Doron Spielman said in an interview posted on X on Saturday.
During the first day of the truce, humanitarian aid reached Gaza more easily, with 200 trucks carrying fuel, food and medicine entering the enclave through Egypt, according to reports. Hundreds more aid trucks are expected to arrive in Gaza in the coming days. According to the enclave’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, the number of people killed in the Gaza Strip since the conflict started last month is more than 14,800.
Under the truce agreement announced earlier this week, Hamas is expected to release a total of 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The deal emerged from talks involving Israel, Hamas, Qatar, the U.S. and several outside groups.
