Hamas has completed counting the number of living hostages in Gaza to be released and has transported them to three locations from which they will be conveyed to Israel, a Hamas source told the Qatari state-run Al-Jazeera on Sunday.
The source said that Hamas officials will be meeting with the Red Cross on Sunday night to agree on the logistics of the hostage handover.
Earlier on Sunday, the BBC reported that Hamas stated that it would agree to release the 20 living Gaza hostages on Sunday, a day before the set deadline, if Israel compromises on its list of Palestinian prisoners set to be released, citing a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations.
According to the BBC, if Israel agreed to release even two of its preferred seven high-profile prisoners, it would release the hostages on Sunday.
The Wall Street Journal also reported on Sunday that Hamas said that it was ready to hand over the 20 living hostages that day.
The IDF has confirmed that there is no change in the current assessment, but it remains prepared for any development regarding the reception of the hostages. Additionally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is ready to receive them.
“Israel is prepared and ready for the immediate reception of all our hostages,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.
The hostages will be handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is expected to begin at around 6 a.m.
Timing, location of hostage release remains unclear
However, Hamas has yet to announce the location of the handover.
The Hamas source said that Hamas officials will be meeting with the Red Cross on Sunday night to agree on the logistics of the hostage handover, and reported that hostages will be released from three separate locations.
Israel is operating under two main assumptions. The first, that the hostages, both living and deceased, will be released all at once. The second is that their release will happen by 9 a.m., which is the time US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Israel.
Previous expectations of the hostage release
All hostages were initially expected to be released by noon on Monday at the latest, 72 hours after the ceasefire went into effect following the Israeli government's vote to ratify the deal.
Additionally, Arab reports indicated that Hamas had begun collecting the remains of deceased hostages to return to Israel; however, there is a fear that Hamas may have lost some of the bodies of the deceased.