Washington D.C. – CNN, February 13, 2025
The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears to be back on track after Hamas said it will release Israeli hostages this weekend as initially planned.
Israel and Hamas had been locked in a dispute over the Gaza ceasefire, with the spat threatening to derail an agreement that brought an end to over a year of fighting and with the next steps still to be resolved.
Israeli officials declined to immediately confirm that Israel will abide by the terms of the ceasefire if Hamas releases three hostages as planned, but they are optimistic that a deal will be reached to avert the collapse of the ceasefire agreement.
“Seems it will be resolved,” one Israeli official said, adding there is no appetite in Israeli government leadership to abandon the ceasefire agreement at this time.
The militant group had postponed the release of more hostages this weekend, accusing Israel of violating the truce. In response, Israel warned it would return to fighting.
