Hamas fighters to free more hostages

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: Hamas fighters were set Sunday to release a third group of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a day after freeing captives, including a young woman snatched from a desert rave.

In a sign of the fragility of the exchanges, the latest swap Saturday was delayed for hours after Hamas accused Israel of breaching its side of the deal that led to a four-day ceasefire in the seven-week-old war.

Despite the dispute, Hamas finally released 13 Israelis and four Thai hostages at night, officials said.

Israel said that it, in turn, freed 39 Palestinian prisoners.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it had since received a list of hostages due to be released by Hamas on Sunday.

The list was being checked by security officials, it said, and families of the hostages had been informed.

Among the hostages freed late Saturday was 21-year-old Maya Regev, who had been kidnapped by Hamas fighters in their deadly assault on the Supernova music festival, a brutal episode in the broader October 7 attack on Israel.

She was the first of the music festival hostages to be released since armed Hamas fighters swooped on the event, killing hundreds, taking captives, and sending others fleeing for their lives.

Maya Regev and her 18-year-old brother Itay, who was also abducted from the festival, were shown tied up in the back of a pick-up truck in a video posted on social media after the attack.

«I am so excited and happy that Maya is on her way to us now. Nonetheless, my heart is split because my son Itay is still in Hamas captivity in Gaza,» her mother Mirit said in a statement released by the hostage families' forum.

'Sigh of relief'

The family of Emily Hand, a 9-year-old Israeli-Irish freed hostage, said they were «overjoyed» to embrace her again.

«We can't find the words to describe our emotions after 50 challenging and complicated days,» the family said in a statement via the forum.

«We are overjoyed to embrace Emily again, but at the same time, we remember… all the hundreds of hostages who have yet to return.» The girl ran into the tight embrace of her father upon her release, a video by the Israeli Defence Forces