Hamas says trio of Israeli hostages to be released as scheduled on Saturday

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The Palestinian militant group Hamas signalled on Feb 13 that a crisis threatening to unravel the Gaza ceasefire deal could be avoided despite uncertainty over the number of hostages due to be released on Saturday and disagreements over aid supplies.

The 42-day ceasefire has appeared close to failure this week amid accusations on both sides of violations to the agreement sealed last month with the help of Egyptian and Qatari mediators and U.S. support.

Hamas said it did not want the deal to collapse, though it rejected what it called the "language of threats and intimidation" from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Those leaders said the ceasefire should be cancelled if the hostages are not released.