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Following the signing of a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas on Friday, the IDF informed the hostages’ families about the list of names Israel requested for release which Hamas approved. The updated list included the 33 individuals, as well as others hoping their relatives — both living and deceased — will be released in the deal's second phase.
The government meeting to approve the deal, which was initially rescheduled for Saturday, will take place on Friday afternoon in Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. The first list of hostages to be released is set to be sent to Israel by Saturday at 16:30 p.m., according to Israeli officials.
The Prime Minister's Office announced that "subject to the cabinet and government’s approval and the agreement’s implementation, the hostages’ release could proceed as planned, expected as early as Sunday."
The list aligns with the one Hamas approved earlier this month, based on a roster Israel submitted months ago. However, the families weren't provided information regarding the hostages' conditions.
The first to be released are expected to be women abducted from kibbutzim and the Nova Music Festival: Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, Arbel Yehud, Doron Steinbrecher and Shiri Bibas and her young children, Ariel and Kfir. Subsequently, five female IDF lookouts captured at the Nahal Oz base will be freed: Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy.
The list also includes 10 men aged 50–85: Ohad Ben-Ami, Gadi Moses, Keith Siegal, Ofer Calderon, Eliyahu Sharabi, Itzik Elgart, Shlomo Mansour, Ohad Yahalomi, Oded Lifshitz and Tsahi Idan.
Additionally, nine other injured or ill hostages are set to be released in the deal's first phase: Yarden Bibas, Sagui Dekel Hen, Iair Horn, Omer Wenkert, Alexander Trufanov, Eliya Cohen, Or Levy, Tal Shoham and Omer Shem Tov. Also included are Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held captive in Gaza for nearly a decade.
Hamas plans to release the hostages over 42 days (six weeks), with at least three hostages freed weekly. Living hostages will be released before the deceased. Under the terms of the deal, women will be released first in two stages: three women on the first day and four on the seventh day.
However, nothing is certain and Hamas may attempt to derail the agreement at various stages. Israeli officials stressed that at each phase, the Prime Minister's Office will issue an official statement listing the names of the hostages scheduled for release that day only after they have been handed over to IDF forces and their families have been updated.
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Israel aims to begin implementing the agreement on Sunday at 4:00 p.m., provided the High Court of Justice dismisses the anticipated petitions against the deal by then.
During the cease-fire's sixth week, Hamas is expected to release al-Sayed and Mengistu under the humanitarian category. Hamas thus far hasn't provided Israel with the complete list of living hostages, which it's scheduled to deliver on the cease-fire's seventh day.