Hamas official says four women hostages to be freed Saturday

Hamas said Tuesday it will release four women hostages in the next swap with Israel under the terms of a fragile truce intended to bring to an end to 15 months of war in Gaza.

US President Donald Trump, who claimed credit for the hard-won ceasefire agreement, said he doubted the deal would hold as he took office for a historic second term.

Desperately needed humanitarian aid has begun to flow into Gaza as Palestinians displaced by the war headed back to devastated areas of the territory, hopeful the agreement would hold.

For the latest updates on the Israel-Palestine conflict, visit our dedicated page.

The ceasefire took effect on Sunday, and saw Israel and Hamas conduct their first exchange of hostages for prisoners.

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP that four Israeli women hostages will be freed on Saturday in exchange for a second group of Palestinian prisoners.

In Washington, newly-inaugurated Trump cast doubt on whether the truce would hold.

“That’s not our war; it’s their war. But I’m not confident,” he said.

Trump had claimed credit for the three-phase ceasefire agreement announced ahead of his return to the White House by Qatar and the United States, following months of fruitless negotiations under his predecessor Joe Biden.

Qatar was confident in the ceasefire deal it helped mediate “when it comes to the language of the deal, when it comes to the fact that we hashed out all the major issues on the table,” its foreign minister spokesman said on Tuesday.

The new US president has made clear he would support Israel, and in one of his first acts as president, he revoked sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank imposed by the Biden administration over attacks against Palestinians.

Read more:

Turkey could restart Israel trade if peace permanent, trade body says

Israeli far-right minister thanks Trump for revoking US sanctions on settlers

Palestinian Authority accuses Trump of inciting Israeli settler violence