The group said that mediators were working “to remove obstacles and close gaps” after the cease-fire deal with Israel hit a roadblock. Israel has yet to comment.

As Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the cease-fire deal, Israel’s prime minister has vowed a return to “intense fighting” if hostages are not freed by Saturday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the cease-fire would end if Hamas did not release captives held in Gaza. But he did not say how many hostages had to be freed.

Taking over the enclave, forcing Palestinians to leave and preventing them from returning would be clear violations of international law, experts say.

King Abdullah II, a close U.S. ally dependent on aid from Washington, is confronting the president’s demands that he take in Palestinians from Gaza, a step the king’s domestic politics will not allow.

The president turned up the pressure on the two nations to agree to his proposal for them to house the Palestinian population of Gaza and said the Palestinians would not have the right to return to the territory.

Hamas and President Trump have threatened to upend the cease-fire. Analysts say those words could prove hollow, but the deal still may not last beyond early March.

Hostages freed before Saturday’s exchange have expressed relief and joy, while descriptions of the torment they endured are trickling out.

During the war with Hamas, troops patrolled the Netzarim Corridor, which splits Gaza, preventing evacuated Palestinians from returning north.

He is making us a corrupted, brittle superpower.

My father’s killer is being released to save hostages.

The scenes at the latest hostage release in Gaza angered Israelis and created even more uncertainty surrounding the next steps in a phased cease-fire deal.

The release of the three men was the fifth in a staggered hostage-for-prisoner exchange laid out in a cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel.

The Israelis were identified as Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben-Ami, all of whom were abducted during the 2023 Hamas-led attack. Israel is expected to let dozens of Palestinian prisoners go in return.

Although the president had been talking about the idea for weeks, there had been no meetings on the subject, and senior members of his government were taken by surprise.

Even aside from his stunning Gaza proposal, President Trump gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel nearly everything he wanted, signaling a renewal of their close alliance.

Hamas still controls most of the enclave, but Israel holds some key areas. International oversight could also be expanded, while the Palestinian Authority has presented itself as another alternative.

With Canada, Mexico, China, Colombia and the Middle East, President Trump has wasted no time threatening to use American might to force recalcitrant countries to back down and do what he wants.

Israel’s prime minister is expected to meet with President Trump this week to discuss the future of Gaza and broader regional issues.

Keith Siegel was abducted along with his wife in the October 2023 Hamas-led attack. His wife was freed in a previous cease-fire.