Live: Hamas, Israel set for fifth prisoner-hostage swap under Gaza truce deal

Middle East

Hamas on Saturday is expected to release a fifth batch of hostages held in Gaza since October 2023 in exchange for Israel’s release of Palestinian detainees under the first phase of a fragile ceasefire deal. It comes as US President Donald Trump’s proposal to displace Gazans raised doubts over the future of the multiphase deal. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments on the Middle East.

Issued on: 08/02/2025 – 06:46Modified: 08/02/2025 – 07:02

2 min

File picture of freed Palestinian prisoners arriving in the Gaza Strip under a ceasefire deal taken in Khan Younis, February 1, 2025. © Jehad Alshrafi, AP

Hamas and Israel are expected to conduct a fifth exchange of hostages and prisoners under the first phase of a three-phased Gaza ceasefire deal.
Hamas-led militants are set to free three more hostages, all Israeli civilian men, on Saturday. The hostages to be released are: Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56; and Or Levy, 34.
The 183 Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel include 18 people serving life sentences for committing deadly attacks, 54 serving long-term sentences and 111 Palestinians from Gaza who were detained after the October 7 attack.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)

Yesterday’s Developments

Hamas on Friday announced the names of three Israeli hostages to be released on Saturday in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners after a delay that underlined the obstacles hanging over a fragile deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the court’s “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”. The Hague had “abused its power” by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the order said.
The ICC on Friday condemned the US executive order and vowed to “continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world”.
The UN human rights office said it deeply regretted the US sanctions against the ICC and called for a reversal of the decision.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Friday praised Trump for imposing sanctions on the ICC, calling the court’s actions against Israel “immoral” and illegitimate.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will pay his first visit to the Middle East this month, the State Department said late Thursday. Rubio will attend the Munich Security Conference and then visit Israel, the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia from February 13-18.