The discharge of the hostages from Gaza is anticipated to start on Monday morning, Hamas and Israeli officers mentioned over the weekend, although some uncertainty stays relating to the timing.
Below the phrases of the ceasefire settlement reached on Thursday, the IDF had 24 hours to finish its preliminary withdrawal in Gaza. Hamas was given a window of 72 hours after the withdrawal to launch the 48 hostages, 20 of whom are regarded as alive.
The IDF accomplished its withdrawal by midday on Friday, commencing the 72-hour interval. Israel will launch some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in trade for the hostages.
In a Friday message seen by The Instances of Israel, the Israeli authorities’s pointman on the hostages, Gal Hirsch, informed kinfolk of the captives that Israel believed “the method of releasing your family members — our family members, the hostages — will start on Monday morning.”
“Residing hostages will likely be handed over to us, and it’s anticipated that the stays of fallen hostages may also be transferred to us,” he wrote. Our bodies of lifeless hostages will likely be transferred “in a painful and respectful ceremony” to the Institute of Forensic Medication to be recognized, he added.
High Hamas official Osama Hamdan appeared to substantiate that schedule, telling AFP that “in response to the signed settlement, the prisoner trade is about to start on Monday morning as agreed, and there are not any new developments on this matter.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hostage level man, Gal Hirsch, attends a gathering of the Knesset Nationwide Safety Committee, September 28, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz, Workplace of the Knesset Spokesperson)
However some Israeli sources signaled that uncertainty stays. On Saturday, Channel 12 reported {that a} senior Israeli official mentioned “not all timing particulars are clear to Israel.” The official didn’t blame Hamas for deliberately stalling the hostage launch, as a substitute saying the paradox is seemingly because of the terror group’s logistical preparations.
The report added that the releases may start as early as Sunday night time if circumstances allow. Talks are ongoing with the Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross, which is about to coordinate the switch of hostages, the community mentioned.
The official added that the precise time of the discharge will possible solely be identified a couple of hours prematurely.
As well as, Hamas has beforehand mentioned that it anticipated problem finding the our bodies of a few of the deceased hostages throughout the 72-hour deadline.
In his message to kinfolk of hostages, Hirsch mentioned that after Israel verifies the identities of the our bodies it acquired, a multinational process drive will begin looking for any bodies still in Gaza that the terror group cannot locate.
“We demand, anticipate, and work for 100% effort from Hamas, with the help of the worldwide drive, in an effort to full the mission and convey again all of the fallen hostages for burial in Israel,” he wrote.
US Particular Envoy for the Center East Steve Witkoff (heart) speaks at Hostages Sq. in Tel Aviv, accompanied by Jared Kushner (L) and Ivanka Trump, on October 11, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)
In a gathering with kinfolk of hostages on Saturday night, US particular envoy Steve Witkoff echoed that concern, saying it could possibly be very arduous to find a few of the our bodies, Channel 12 reported.
The households had been deeply troubled by Witkoff’s evaluation and had been pleading for Israel to do the whole lot potential to return each hostage, the report mentioned.
Israel has identified since earlier than ratifying the settlement on Friday that a few of the lifeless hostages might not be situated. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been conscious of that chance for months, three Israeli officers informed CNN.
One official mentioned seven to 9 our bodies may not be retrieved, whereas one other put the determine at between 10 and 15. The CNN report was not publicly confirmed by Israeli authorities.
Demonstrators attend a rally for the discharge of Israeli hostages held within the Gaza Strip, outdoors the Gaza border metropolis of Sderot, on October 11, 2025. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
When the discharge occurs, the hostages are anticipated to both be transferred collectively at a single assortment level, or freed concurrently at a number of areas throughout the Strip. Israeli officers have assessed that Hamas prefers to pay attention all hostages at one location forward of their launch, Channel 13 reported.
Following the return of the hostages, Israel will proceed with the discharge of about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Of these, 250 are safety prisoners serving life phrases for lethal terror assaults, whereas one other 1,700 are Gazan detainees arrested over the course of the two-year battle.
The discharge of the hostages and Palestinian safety prisoners is the main focus of the ceasefire deal’s first part. The main points of the remainder of the settlement — regarding the disarmament of Hamas and Gaza’s post-war future — have but to be hashed out by negotiators.
Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh attends a gathering with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and different overseas ministers, amid the continued battle between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Amman, Jordan, on November 4, 2023. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool picture by way of AP)
The deputy head of the Palestinian Authority, Hussein al-Sheikh, informed the Saudi Al-Arabiya information channel on Saturday that he’ll meet with former British prime minister Tony Blair in Jordan on Sunday to debate the “day after” the battle in Gaza.
In keeping with the plan offered by the White Home, Blair is slated to take a number one position within the worldwide physique that may oversee Gaza throughout a transitional interval envisioned by the settlement.
The PA has been vying for a foothold in Trump’s framework for post-war Gaza, which describes an internationally-supervised technocratic Palestinian committee governing the territory after the battle. The settlement requires the West Financial institution-based PA to endure reforms earlier than it will probably assume energy.
Nurit Yohanan and Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
