Israeli captives to be released from three locations in Gaza

Al Jazeera is reporting that Israeli captives held in Gaza are set to be released from three different locations across the territory.

An Israeli government spokesperson confirmed that the 20 living Israeli captives were set to be released on Monday morning, and that the release of nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners would be conducted shortly after. 

The Israeli military raided the homes of the prisoners' families across the occupied West Bank, warning them not to celebrate the return of their loved ones.

The BBC reported that Hamas told mediators that it would release Israeli captives ahead of Monday's deadline if Israel included at least two of the names of seven high-profile Palestinian prisoners on the release list.

Israel unilaterally removed the name of Marwan Barghouti - the popular Palestinian political figure - from the prisoner exchange list, a source close to the prominent Palestinian prisoner told MEE.

A senior Palestinian official familiar with the talks told the BBC that US envoy Steve Witkoff had promised to raise the exclusion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but Israel has refused to include the names.