Palestinian militant group Hamas on Thursday said it would continue to implement its ceasefire agreement with Tel Aviv in Gaza and release the next group of Israeli hostages as planned, AP reported.

Hamas added that Egypt and Qatar – who have been mediating talks with the help of the United States – had said they would work to “remove all hurdles”.

Three more Israeli hostages are scheduled to be freed on Saturday as per the ceasefire agreement.

Israel’s military offensive against Gaza began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, killing more than 62,000 persons, including over 17,400 children. About 400 Israeli soldiers have died in the conflict.

On January 19, the first six-week phase of the Gaza ceasefire began, involving the exchange of 33 hostages for hundreds of Palestinian detainees in Israel. While Hamas has so far released 16 Israeli hostages, 566 Palestinian prisoners have been freed.

Some of the hostages were released in November 2023 as part of a brief ceasefire deal, while some were killed as a result of the war.

The Palestinian militant group had said on Monday that it would delay the release of hostages as Israel was violating the terms of the ceasefire. Hamas has accused Israel of continuing to attack Gaza residents in spite of their agreement.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Thursday that three Palestinians were killed and 14 other recovered bodies were brought to hospitals in the past 24 hour, Al Jazeera reported.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ceasefire with Hamas would end and its forces would resume their military offensive in Gaza if hostages were not released by midday on Saturday as scheduled.

“If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” he said after a meeting of the country’s Security Cabinet.

The ceasefire agreement also allows hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their neighbourhoods in Gaza. About 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced since October 2023, according to the United Nations’ Palestine refugee agency.

According to the United Nations, 92% of the housing units in Gaza have either been destroyed or damaged by Israeli attacks.