DOHA, October 12. /TASS/. Hamas and other Palestinian groups operating in the Gaza Strip have confirmed their intention to release all Israeli hostages as scheduled, or by noon local time (9:00 a.m. GMT) on October 13, a senior Hamas official has said.
"[Palestinian] resistance groups have confirmed that they will implement their commitments and will release hostages in the agreed time," he told the Al Jazeera television channel.
According to the Hamas official, the group and its affiliates "have drawn the list of living hostages and taken them at several locations in the Gaza Strip as part of preparations for the release."
The source also said that representatives of Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross plan to hold a meeting on Sunday evening to "coordinate the mechanism" of the transfer of hostages, which will be carried out "along three separate routes in the Gaza Strip."
The Hamas official also said that the mediators continue working on the problem stemming from Israel’s refusal to release a number of Palestinians suggested by the Palestinian side as par of the deal. "We have had intense contacts with the mediators to adjust the lists of Palestinian prisoners to be released," he added.
Israel and Hamas resumed Egypt-, Qatar, the United States, and Turkey-mediated indirect talks on settling the situation in the Gaza Strip on October 6. On October 9, Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan. Phase one provides for the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces to agreed positions inside Gaza. The ceasefire agreement came into effect from 9:00 a.m. GMT and the Israeli troops began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines. From this time, a 72-hour countdown started until the release of hostages held by the Palestinian movement Hamas in the embattled enclave.