MAJOR BREAKING NEWS
WSJ: Hamas ready to release hostages today
Tense Countdown in Gaza: Hamas Poised to Free 20 Living Israeli Captives as Early as Sunday – But Clashing Timelines Ignite Confusion and Hope on Day 3 of Trump's High-Stakes Truce
Hamas has signaled to Israel that it's holding 20 living hostages and is primed to start handing them over as early as today, Sunday, a revelation exploding from the pages of The Wall Street Journal just hours ago, fueling a whirlwind of anticipation and skepticism amid the shaky Gaza ceasefire!
An Israeli official commented on the Wall Street Journal report: We are prepared to take in the hostages in the immediate future. As we understand it, Hamas wants to have all the live hostages in our hands by the time Trump lands in Israel tomorrow morning.
This electrifying update comes hot on the heels of the Trump-brokered deal's first phase, greenlit by Israel's government on Thursday, October 9, which kicked off a ceasefire at noon local time on Friday, October 10, halting two brutal years of war that ravaged Gaza and left 48 hostages (at least 20 alive) languishing in captivity since the horrific October 7, 2023, attacks.
An Israeli official commented on the Wall Street Journal report: We are prepared to take in the hostages in the immediate future. As we understand it, Hamas wants to have all the live hostages in our hands by the time Trump lands in Israel tomorrow morning.
As Israeli troops pull back from swaths of the Strip and displaced Palestinians flood northward to reclaim their shattered homes, all eyes are glued to the hostage exchange – a high-wire act swapping the remaining captives for 250 Palestinian prisoners, many lifers accused of deadly attacks.
Yet, the timeline's a ticking time bomb of contradictions: President Trump himself declared on Thursday that releases would likely hit Monday or Tuesday (October 13-14), echoed by a top Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, who pegged the handover of 48 hostages (living and dead) to kick off Monday morning.
An Israeli insider spilled to CBS News that all captives could be free by noon local time Monday – 5 a.m. ET, as the truce holds firm, with Israeli forces completing initial withdrawals and the Rafah crossing slated to reopen Tuesday for aid and exits.
Hamas, reeling from internal rifts and battlefield losses, has thrown in demands like freeing notorious terror chiefs and October 7 attackers, a red line for Israel, while vowing the war's "fully and completely ended" under U.S. guarantees.
But with Trump jetting to Egypt for a signing ceremony and crowds erupting in Tel Aviv cheers, this could be the dawn of peace or just another fragile pause in the endless storm.
As the Red Cross pleads for "safe and dignified" handovers, the fate of these shattered lives hangs in the balance, will today mark the miracle, or merely more agony?