Gaza City: Hamas on Thursday said it was committed to carrying out the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza under a timeline set out in a ceasefire deal for the territory.
"Hamas confirms continuation in implementing the agreement in accordance with what was signed, including the exchange of prisoners (Israeli hostages) according to the specified timetable," it said in a statement.
It added that talks being held this week in Cairo aimed at overcoming an impasse in implementing the truce deal had been "positive".
A fragile truce in Gaza, which came into effect on January 19, has come under increasing strain.
Hamas announced on Monday it would indefinitely postpone the next hostage-prisoner exchange expected on Saturday. The group said it was delaying the release of hostages "until further notice" because of a series of violations of the ceasefire deal by Israel.
Following the announcement, United States President Donald Trump said "all hell" would break loose and he would call for the deal's cancellation if the hostages aren't released on Saturday.
Israel has vowed to restart the war in Gaza, already devastated by 15 months of fighting, if the hostage release does not go ahead as planned.
"We are keen to implement it (the ceasefire) and oblige the occupation to fully abide by it," Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al Qanou said, adding that mediators were pushing for Israel "to resume the exchange process on Saturday".
Hamas said it remained committed to carrying out the next exchange "according to the specified timetable".
"If those three are not released, if Hamas does not return our hostages, by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end," said Israel government spokesman David Mencer.
On Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza, meanwhile, a row of bulldozers was seen lining up and waiting to enter the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Egyptian state-linked media said heavy equipment and trucks carrying mobile homes were ready to enter, but Israel said later they would not be allowed to go in via the Rafah crossing.
Hamas has previously accused Israel of holding up the delivery of heavy machinery needed to clear the vast amount of rubble littering the territory.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,222 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable. — AFP
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