The crisis concerning the exchange between Israel and Hamas is being resolved. Hamas has declared its commitment to the agreement. Upon the commitment of intermediary countries, it was stated that the implementation of the agreement would continue to include the prisoner exchange. Hamas has revealed the names of the captives who will be released today. In return, Israel will release 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Speaking about the exchange, President Trump stated, “I will take a firm stance on Gaza tomorrow; I don’t know what Israel will do.” Trump had previously used the words, “If all captives are not released on Saturday, there will be a disaster.”

The crisis which brought the agreement that silenced weapons in Gaza to a breaking point has been resolved. Early messages that pointed to the collapse of the agreement containing the ceasefire and exchange have been replaced by a positive atmosphere. A commitment statement to the agreement was made by Hamas.

The names of the captives who will be released tomorrow were specified as Sasha Alexander Trufanov, Sagui Dekel Chen, and Iair Horn. Hamas also announced that Israel, in return, will release 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees on Saturday.

TRUMP: I DON’T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THE CAPTIVES AREN’T RELEASED BY 12.00

Trump made statements to the press at the White House. When asked about what he expects regarding the release of captives in Gaza, Trump responded, “I don’t know what will happen at 12.00. If it were up to me, I would take a very firm stance. I cannot say what Israel will do.” Stating, “I would take a different approach depending on the situation,” Trump accused Hamas of not keeping their word regarding the release of captives, “But now I understand they have changed completely. Hamas has changed completely. You should see that they want to release captives again, but you should start from their saying they won’t release captives.” He underlined that he gave Hamas permission to release the captives until 12.00 on Saturday. Trump also stated that Hamas mistreats the captive women in their possession and that the released captives looked worse. HAMAS HAD SUSPENDED THE PRISONER EXCHANGE

On February 15th, the spokesperson of Hamas’ military wing, Ebu Ubeyde, had announced that the planned prisoner exchange was “suspended due to Israel not fulfilling their commitments in the ceasefire agreement.” In their statement, Hamas indicated that the suspension decision was announced 5 days before the prisoner exchange, giving intermediary countries the opportunity to exert pressure on Israel to adhere to the ceasefire terms. US President Donald Trump had previously stated that if all the captives in Gaza were not released by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire should be canceled, saying, “Then let the disaster happen.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to end the ceasefire and initiate violent attacks if Israeli captives were not released, instructing the army to send reinforcement units into and around Gaza. Hamas had announced on February 13th that, based on intermediary countries’ commitment to removing obstacles in Israel’s ceasefire agreement, they would continue to implement the prisoner exchange as part of the agreement.