Hamas has released the names of three Israeli men it said it would free from Gaza on Saturday, in what will be the fifth round of exchanges under the ongoing ceasefire.

Hamas on Friday announced the names of three Israeli hostages to be released on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners after a delay that underlined the obstacles hanging over a fragile deal meant to end the war in Gaza.

The delay had raised concerns about progress in the fragile cease-fire amid a dispute over the flow of humanitarian goods into the enclave.

Hamas accused Israel on Friday of breaching their ceasefire accord and it delayed announcing the names of three more Israeli hostages due to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in the latest stage in a fragile deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

Hamas named the next three Israeli hostages it plans to release this weekend as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel. It was a sign that the first phase of the truce was moving forward as planned -- even as many observers fear that U.

It is believed that at least two of the six American hostages still held in Gaza are alive — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, who grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Edan Alexander, 19, from Tenafly, New Jersey. Four other Americans are believed to have been killed in captivity.

Even in war, branding applies. Israel and Hamas are engaged in a parallel battle of optics despite a ceasefire that took effect Jan. 19 after more than a year of devastating war.

In highly staged ceremonies, Hamas freed three people held captive over the last 15 months. Keeping to its part of the cease-fire deal, Israel released 183 Palestinians held in jails.

Media reports say video meant to demonstrate costs of war to terror convicts who have had little access to media, serve as a deterrent The post Israel to show prisoners clip of Gaza destruction prior to release under truce deal appeared first on The Times of Israel.

An Israeli campaign group urged the government on Friday to stick with the Gaza truce ahead of a fifth hostage-prisoner swap, after explosive comments by US President Donald Trump raised