Hamas names first three female captives to be released from Gaza on Sunday

CAIRO – 19 January 2025: Hamas announced providing a list of names of the three captives scheduled for release on Sunday, the first day of the planned ceasefire in Gaza, the movement said on Telegram.

Hamas's armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obaida named the first three female captives set to be released today.

"Within the framework of the Al-Aqsa Flood prisoner swap deal, Al-Qassam Brigades decided to release the Zionist captives: Romi Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28), and Doron Steinbrecher (31) on Sunday 19 January," Abu Obaida said in a Telegram post.

The ceasefire in Gaza was set to start at 08:30 local time (0630 GMT).

However, Israel said it will not move ahead with the deal implementation until Hamas hands over the names of the three female captives scheduled to be released on the first day.

Hamas has blamed their delay in list submission on “technical field reasons.”

AlQahera News correspondent said 10 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza since 08:30, the planned time of the start of the ceasefire.

The news comes while many Palestinians have reportedly headed to their areas of residence in Gaza ahead of the ceasefire time.