Hamas names 3 Israeli hostages to be released Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire

Hamas has released the names of three hostages due to be freed on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, after days of fears over the future of the ceasefire.

Israel confirmed having received three names from Qatari and Egyptian negotiators. They include Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, an American-Israeli dual national; Sasha Alexander Troufanov, 29, a Russian-Israeli citizen; and Iair Horn, 46, an Argentine native. All three were inhabitants of Kibbutz Nir Oz when they were captured by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.

Israel had told Hamas that it must release three living prisoners this weekend or risk a restart of the conflict, after the group's announcement that it would stop releases due to Israeli violations of the Gaza truce.

Trump warned this week that "hell" would break out if Hamas did not free "all" of the remaining captives by Saturday at noon.

The January 19 ceasefire has been under massive strain since President Donald Trump proposed a US takeover of the territory.