Names of six alive hostages to be freed this week confirmed by families

Hamas has confirmed that it will return six hostages to Israel this weekend, including two men that have been held for more than a decade.

Khalil Al Hayya, the group’s leader in Gaza, said that it would free Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed as part of the group set to be released on Saturday.

Mengistu and al-Sayed, both of whom suffer from mental health conditions according to their families, have been held captive since straying across the Gaza border in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Despite the length of their captivity, Hamas has confirmed that both men will be returned alive.

The families of Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham have also said that they have been informed by Israeli authorities that their loved ones will be returning home.

This announcement would seemingly confirm the fate of a further eight captives, including the Bibas children.

Hamas has previously revealed that eight of the 33 hostages it listed for release in the ceasefire’s first phase are dead meaning 14 of the 33 remain in Gaza, with just six still alive.

The apparent confirmation of the identities of those six suggests that any of those not included in their group have died in captivity.

This would include the Bibas children, who Hamas has already claimed are dead, and their mother Shiri, whose status remains unknown.

The news follows reports that the terror group is looking to increase the tempo of releases in order to cement the terms of the ceasefire deal.

Speaking to Ynet, an anonymous spokesperson said that as many as six living hostages could be freed this weekend, a marked increase on previous rounds which usually saw three captives returned.

Since the start of the ceasefire, no more than four hostages have been released on the same day.

But the official suggested that the increase would come in exchange for commitments to advance the ceasefire and allow the reconstruction of Gaza.

The spokesperson said: “There are negotiations and it depends on the price Israel will pay.

"The demands at the moment are that Israel agrees to enter talks for the second phase [of the hostage deal] and give guarantees on the humanitarian issues, allowing in mobile homes and heavy [construction] equipment.”

One of those conditions has already seemingly been met as Egypt’s Al-Ghad TV reports that heavy construction equipment has already begun passing through the Rafah Crossing into Gaza.

However, the progression of the deal into phase two is more contentious in Israel, with significant pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull out of the agreement.

Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich has already said he will resign if Israel enters phase two negotiations in a move that could collapse the government.

Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli also told US Jewish leaders that he would vote against advancing the deal, arguing that too many Palestinian prisoners would walk free.

Israel’s security cabinet met for over five hours yesterday to debate phase two, which is expected to see the full withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza in exchange for the remaining hostages.

For his part, Netanyahu has thrown his backing behind US President Trump’s plan for Gaza, which would see America “take over” the Strip and resettle its population in Egypt and Jordan before redeveloping the territory into the “riviera of the Middle East”.

The proposal has been rejected by both the Jordanians and Egyptians, and Saudi Arabia has said it will not enter into a normalisation agreement with Israel if the plan is implemented.

Hamas’ comments come in the wake of separate reports in Israeli and Arab media that the remains of at least four hostages who died in captivity will be returned to Israel on Thursday.

The bodies will reportedly be taken to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, with families only informed as to whether their loved ones are included in the release once a formal identification has taken place.