Families in Palestine and occupied territories are awaiting the return of their loved ones from Gaza and Israeli jails, respectively.
The exchange will take place in the coming hours, ahead of a midday (09:00 GMT) deadline under the terms of the ceasefire agreement proposed by Trump.
A spokesman for Netanyahu’s office told the AFP news agency that Israel expects all 20 surviving captives to be released to the Red Cross in Gaza early in the morning.
Israel’s Ynet News reported that military officials expect the release to take place between 8am and 10am local time (05:00 and 07:00 GMT), possibly at one of three handover points in south, central and northern Gaza.
It said families of the captives have been told to arrive at the Re’im base in southern occupied Palestine at 7:30am local time (04:30 GMT), where the captives will undergo an initial medical evaluation after their release.
The AFP, citing Netanyahu’s spokesperson, said the nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners would be “released once Israel has confirmation that all of our hostages set to be released […] are across the border into Israel”.
Hamas is also expected to hand over the remains of dozens of captives who died during and after the attacks of October 7, 2023, and Ynet reports that the move will take place today, too. But the outlet said the handover could take several days to complete.
According to AFP, Hamas is also expected to hand over the remains of a soldier killed in 2014, during a previous war.
MNA/
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