Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group have released the names of three Israeli hostages to be released on Saturday, days after the future of the fragile Gaza ceasefire was threatened.
Alexander 'Sasha' Troufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Iair Horn will be freed, after more than 497 days in captivity.
The confirmation they will be handed over and returned to Israel followed an announcement by Hamas on Thursday that it remained committed to the truce in Gaza after deliveries of desperately needed shelter equipment for Gaza was promised.
On Monday, Hamas had threatened to indefinitely delay future hostage releases in protest over claimed Israeli breaches of the ceasefire.
In response, the Israeli government had said a failure to release more living hostages by midday on Saturday would mean the deal would be torn up and fighting in Gaza would resume.
It is not clear where in Gaza the men will be presented to the International Red Cross, whether all three men will be handed over together, or what time they will be freed.
The trio were all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, near the Gaza border, on October 7 2023.
Sasha Troufanov, 29, was taken along with his mother, grandmother and partner. The three women were released during the last ceasefire, in November 2023.
Segui Dekel-Chen, 36, has never met his youngest daughter, with his wife giving birth two months after his abduction.
A month ago, the dual Israeli-American citizen's father told the ABC the family have not had any word on his wellbeing since late 2023.
"It's a living hell," Jonathan Dekel-Chen said.
"I've held on to one image since October 8th, that there will come a day that Sagui walks — I pray on his own two legs — and walks into some room or some hallway, and his three little girls now run and leap into his arms, and his wife embraces him."
Iair Horn, 46, is an Israeli-Argentinian dual citizen who had been working in construction.
The return of the three men will take the number of Israeli hostages freed during 'phase one' of the ceasefire to 19, with 33 slated for release before March 2.
Eight of the remaining hostages are dead.
Saturday's handover will trigger Israeli authorities to free a number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees from jails across Israel, returning them to the West Bank and Gaza.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Media Office said 369 Palestinians would be released — 36 serving life sentences, with the rest detained in Gaza during the war.
Fragile ceasefire holding for another weekend
The fragile ceasefire in Gaza came close to total collapse this week, after Hamas accused Israel of repeated breaches of the ceasefire.
Of particular concern for the militant group were delays in deliveries of emergency shelters such as tents and caravans, desperately needed as Gaza was hit with wet wintery weather.
Convoys carrying those supplies have been lined up at the Rafah crossing in Egypt, waiting for Israeli clearance to enter the war-ravaged strip.
"Our life is so difficult, and only Gazans know what this feeling is," 40 year old Deir al Balah resident Majed El Kurd told thre ABC.
"The Israeli forces are banning mobile homes, caravans, making it difficult for us.
"In summer it is boiling, and, in the winter, we are drowning."
Israel has denied claims it has blocked aid entering Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces sent troops and tanks to border areas of Gaza in anticipation of the ceasefire being torn up, fuelling anxieties among Palestinians.
Negotiations on what happens after the current six week ceasefire ends on March 2 had been derailed as a result of the disagreement, with considerable debate over how a lasting peace can be achieved in Gaza.
Donald Trump's intervention in recent weeks, pitching to turn Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East and clear out Palestinians living there continued to loom large over the negotiations.
His proposal to resettle Gazans in countries such as Egypt and Jordan has been met with scorn from Arab leaders.
"Trump every day says he wants to buy Gaza, or he wants to take Gaza," 20 year old Mahmoud Bajet Wadi from northern Gaza told the ABC.
"And he asks why we want to live over the rubble.
"We are ok to live over the rubble. We will remain in Gaza even if our bodies are dismantled."
Families of remaining Israeli hostages have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the ceasefire, so that their loved ones can be brought home.
They fear Mr Netanyahu may be preparing to walk away from the truce, bowing to demands from hard-line members of his coalition government to launch fresh strikes against Hamas.
