Israel receives names of four female hostages Hamas is due to release Saturday

Hamas has published the names of the four Israeli women hostages it intends to release on Saturday.

Israel says it has received a list of four female hostages Hamas is due to free on Saturday in what would be the second round of releases under the ceasefire deal agreed this month. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that the list was received through mediators and added that Israel’s response would be provided later. Hamas said Friday it intends to release four female Israeli soldiers, which raises questions about the fate of a female civilian hostage Israel expected to be released in the second wave. Israel had demanded that Hamas release Arbel Yehud — a 29-year-old woman who was taken hostage from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz — as part of the next hostage release, a source familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear whether Israel would accept Hamas releasing four female soldiers before releasing Yehud, or whether Israel would deem the list to be a violation of the agreement. Yehud is believed to be held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, not Hamas, which could be a factor in the timing of her release.