“I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” Trump said in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform.

Hamas accused the US president of encouraging Israel to break the ceasefire deal currently in effect between the two sides.

Trump’s statement came just hours after the White House confirmed it was holding direct talks with Hamas over the remaining hostages.

Washington has until now avoided direct engagement with the group, and there is a longstanding US policy against having direct contact with entities it lists as terrorist organisations.

In his social media post, Trump said there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released, while not specifying the nature of the support he was sending Israel.

“Release all of the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” he added.

“For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance.”

He also appeared to issue a wider threat: “Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!”

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement that such threats “complicate matters regarding the ceasefire agreement and encourage the occupation [Israel] to avoid implementing its terms”.

It’s not the first time Trump has threatened Hamas. In December, he said there would be “all hell to pay” if hostages were not released by the time he took office.

The post came after Trump met with a group of hostages in the White House who had been recently released under the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the US has been negotiating directly with Hamas to try to secure the release of the hostages.

Israel had been consulted prior to the talks, she added.

President Trump believed in doing what was in the best interest of the American people, Leavitt told reporters.

The work of the special envoy for hostages, Adam Boehler, work was a “good faith effort to do what’s right for the American people”, she added.

“Two direct meetings” have taken place between Hamas and a US official, “preceded by several communications”, a Palestinian source told the BBC.

News of the talks was first reported by Axios, which said the two sides were meeting in Qatar to discuss the release of US hostages as well as a wider deal to end the war.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

At least 48,440 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel says there are still 59 hostages being held in Gaza, with up to 24 believed to be alive.

Five US citizens are among the captives. One of them, Edan Alexander, is believed to be alive and the other four are presumed dead.

A former US deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for the Middle East said the US needs to be “more proactive” about getting its citizens back.

Mick Mulroy, who is also an ex-CIA paramilitary officer, added that “it could complicate the Israelis’ ability to get their citizens back if not tightly coordinated”.

Israel’s prime minister’s office said in a statement it has “expressed its position” regarding the direct talks, but did not provide any further information.

According to reports, Boehler met with Hamas representatives in the Qatari capital, Doha, in recent weeks.

Hamas has had a base in Doha since 2012, reportedly at the request of the Obama administration.

The small but influential Gulf state is a key US ally in the region. It hosts a major American air base and has handled many delicate political negotiations, including with Iran, the Taliban and Russia.

Alongside the US and Egypt, Qatar has also played a major role in talks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Israel said on Sunday it was delaying the release of more than 600 Palestinians in return for six living and four dead hostages who had been freed, accusing Hamas of repeated violations including “humiliating” handover ceremonies.

A senior Hamas official said the decision exposed the entire agreement to “grave danger” and called on mediators, especially the US, to pressure Israel.

The deal’s first phase and temporary six-week truce is set to expire on Saturday but indirect negotiations on the second phase and an end to the war have not yet begun.

UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that the ceasefire was “precarious” and that a resumption of hostilities must be avoided at all costs.

He also called for the “dignified release of all remaining hostages”.

On Saturday – the start of the sixth and final week of the ceasefire deal’s first phase – Hamas released six living Israeli hostages.

As with many of the previous handovers, five of them were led onto stages beside armed fighters before being transferred to the Red Cross and then taken to Israel.

Later, Hamas posted a video of two other hostages in a vehicle watching one of the handover ceremonies and appearing to plead with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get them out too. A forum representing the hostages’ families condemned the video as a “sickening display of cruelty”.

There was already fury in Israel after Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages earlier in the week, including those of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons Ariel and Kfir, who were abducted during the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.

It emerged on Friday that Hamas had handed over the remains of a Palestinian woman rather than those of Ms Bibas. The group said there had been a mistake and transferred Ms Bibas’s body later that day.

Israeli authorities also said a post-mortem had shown that Ariel and Kfir’s captors killed the boys “with their bare hands”, contradicting Hamas’s claim that they died in an Israeli air strike.

Israel was scheduled to free 620 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the 10 hostages. More than 400 were Gazans detained by Israeli forces during the war, while 50 of the prisoners were serving life sentences in Israeli jails.

They had reportedly already boarded buses at a prison in the occupied West Bank when the order came to suspend their release while Netanyahu consulted ministers.

In the early hours of Sunday, the prime minister’s office said the release would be postponed “in light of Hamas’s repeated violations, including the ceremonies that humiliate our hostages and the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes”.

“It has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies.”

Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US, UK and other countries – denounced Israel’s decision as a “blatant violation” of the deal and warned US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators that there could be no talks on extending the ceasefire until the prisoners were released.

“We have conveyed a clear and strong message to the mediators – we cannot continue discussing any further steps if these 620 Palestinians are not released,” Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday.

Asked if the scheduled release of the bodies of another four Israeli hostages on Thursday could be affected, he replied that “all options are on the table”.

“Before going to the next step, we have to be sure that the past step [will happen],” he added.

“Netanyahu is clearly sending strong messages that he is intentionally sabotaging the deal, he is preparing the atmosphere for returning back to the war. Therefore, what are the guarantees that he might take the other four bodies and again not release the agreed-upon number of Palestinians, plus the 620 Palestinians?”

Naim said Hamas had discussed Israel’s complaints about the hostage handover ceremonies, but denied they had been humiliating and alleged that Israeli authorities had mistreated Palestinian prisoners before they were released.

The White House backed Israel’s decision to delay the prisoner release, saying it was an “appropriate response” to what it called the “barbaric treatment” of hostages by Hamas.

But President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said he would travel to the region this week with the aim of getting “an extension of phase one”.

“We’re hopeful that we have the proper time… to begin phase two, and finish it off and get more hostages released,” he told CNN on Sunday.

A total of 33 Israeli hostages are supposed to be exchanged for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza during the ceasefire deal’s first phase.

So far, 25 living hostages and four dead hostages have been released, while the bodies of the last four hostages are scheduled to be handed over this week. Five living Thai hostages have also been freed outside the deal.

The agreement has also seen Israeli forces withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been allowed to return to their homes in the north and hundreds of aid lorries are now being allowed into the territory each day.

The ceasefire’s second phase should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

At least 48,346 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Most of Gaza’s population has also been displaced multiple times, almost 70% of buildings are estimated to be damaged or destroyed, the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.

“Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home,” the family said in a statement. Israel’s forensic officials who have been examining the body are yet to confirm the identification.

Remains handed over by Hamas on Thursday which it said were that of Shiri Bibas turned out to be an unidentified woman, Israel said.

It comes as six living hostages are due to be handed over by Hamas later on Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal. More than 600 Palestinian prisoners will be freed by Israel in exchange.

The Bibas family said: “For 16 months, we sought certainty, and now that we have it, there is no comfort in it, but we hope for the beginning of a closure.”

Hamas previously said the mother and her two children were killed in an Israeli air strike.

Earlier, a senior Hamas official confirmed to the BBC that the handover of the new body from Hamas to the Red Cross had taken place on Friday evening.

Israel had accused Hamas of breaking the terms of the ceasefire deal after forensic testing showed the remains handed over on Thursday were not that of Shiri Bibas.

The bodies of her sons, Ariel and Kfir, were returned to Israel, as was that of another hostage, Oded Lifschitz.

Hamas spokesman Ismail al-Thawabta said in a post on X on Friday that Shiri’s remains seemed to have been mixed up with other bodies under rubble after the air strike.

Israel has disputed the claim that Ariel and Kfir Bibas were killed in an airstrike, with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari telling a press conference “forensic findings”, which have not been seen by the BBC, suggested the boys had been killed “deliberately”.

He said evidence had been shared with “partners around the world so they can verify it”.

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were aged 32, four and nine months respectively when they were kidnapped during the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.

They were taken hostage along with the children’s father, Yarden Bibas, 34, who was released alive by Hamas on 1 February.

In the 7 October attacks, about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were killed and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages.

In response, Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas which has killed at least 48,319 Palestinians – mainly civilians – according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

The three other bodies handed over have been identified as her sons, Ariel and Kfir, who would have been aged five and two, and Oded Lifshitz, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

But the fourth body was not Shiri nor any other hostage, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleging on Friday that Hamas “put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin”.

Hamas has not yet responded to this nor the IDF claim that the boys “were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023”, according to intelligence and forensics.

Hamas had previously said the children and their mother were killed in an Israeli bombing in November 2023.

Israel demanded the return of Shiri’s body along with the other remaining hostages.

“We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages – both living and dead – and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement,” Netanyahu said.

The IDF posted on X that “during the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body.”

“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organisation, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it was “horrified and devastated by the news that their mother, Shiri, was not returned—despite the agreement and our desperate hopes”.

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were aged 32, four and nine months when they were kidnapped during the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. They have become a symbol for many in Israel and news of their deaths was met with an outpouring of grief.

The children’s father Yarden Bibas, 34, was released by Hamas on 1 February.

Israel has confirmed that the fourth body returned on Thursday was that of veteran peace activist, Oded Lifshitz.

The release of hostages’ bodies was agreed as part of the ceasefire deal which came into effect on 19 January, and Israel has confirmed it expects eight bodies will be handed over.

The two sides agreed to exchange 33 hostages for about 1,900 prisoners by the end of the first six weeks of the ceasefire.

Talks on progressing to the next phase of the deal – under which the remaining living hostages would be released and the war would end permanently – were due to start earlier this month but have not yet begun.

Twenty-eight hostages and more than 1,000 prisoners have so far been exchanged.

Sixty-six hostages taken on 7 October are still being held in Gaza. Three other hostages, taken more than a decade ago, are also being held. About half of all the hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.

About 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were killed in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages. Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas in response, which has killed at least 48,297 Palestinians – mainly civilians – according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Also on Thursday, three buses exploded in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, in what Israeli police said is a suspected terror attack.

Devices in two other buses failed to explode, they said, adding that “large police forces are at the scenes, searching for suspects”. No casualties have been reported.

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced he had ordered the IDF to carry out an “intensive operation against centers of terrorism” in the West Bank.

The group’s negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said the bodies would include those of the Bibas family – Shiri and her young children Kfir and Ariel, who were aged nine months and four years when Hamas kidnapped them during the 7 October 2023 attack.

Hamas alleges that the three were killed in Israeli bombardment. Israel has not confirmed this. The children’s father Yarden was released by Hamas earlier this month.

Al-Hayya said Hamas would also release six living hostages on Saturday – double the number originally planned.

In exchange, Israel will free all women and those under the age of 19 arrested since last October and is allowing some rubble-clearing equipment into Gaza through the border with Egypt.

In a statement, al-Hayya said the group had agreed “handing over four bodies of the occupation prisoners on Thursday 20 February, including the bodies of the Bibas family”.

Hamas claimed in November 2023 they had been killed in an Israeli air strike, without providing evidence. Israeli officials have said only that they are gravely concerned for their lives.

An Israeli official told Reuters that deceased hostages would undergo identification in Israel before being named.

In a statement, the Bibas family said: “In the past few hours, we have been in turmoil following Hamas spokesperson’s announcement about the planned return of our Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir this Thursday as part of the hostages’ remains release phase.

“We want to make it clear that while we are aware of these reports, we have not yet received any official confirmation regarding this matter.

“Until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over.

Hamas has named two of the six Israelis to be released on Saturday.

They are Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who were seized in 2014 and 2015 respectively after they crossed into Gaza on their own. The Israeli government has said both suffered from mental health issues at the time.

The families of several hostages have said that their loved ones are among those due to be released on the same day.

They are Omer Shem Tov, 22, Eliya Cohen, 27 and Omer Wenkert, 23, who were taken from the Nova Festival on 7 October 2023, and 40-year-old Tal Shoam who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages. In exchange, Israel agreed to release about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.

Talks on progressing to the second phase of the deal – under which the remaining living hostages would be released and the war would end permanently – were due to start earlier this month but have not yet begun.

Hamas has said it is ready to release in one go all the hostages due to be freed in phase two of the ceasefire deal with Israel. 

But a Hamas spokesman made clear that the offer involving more than 60 remaining hostages was dependent on a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and an agreement for a permanent end to the war. 

Hamas also rejected Israel’s demand for its disarmament and removal from Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the talks would begin “this week”.

He said Israel would “not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organisation in Gaza” but that Israel could prolong the ceasefire if discussions were productive.

“If we will see there is a constructive dialogue with a possible horizon of getting to an agreement (then) we will make this time-frame work longer,” Saar said.

A total of 73 hostages are currently being held in Gaza – a mixture of Israeli soldiers and civilians both dead and alive. This also includes Thai and Nepalese nationals.

Some 251 hostages were taken by Hamas when it attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people.

Israel responded with a 15-month military offensive that killed 47,460 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, and devastated the coastal enclave.

The three hostages handed over on Saturday are American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Argentinian-Israeli Yair Horn, 46, and Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov, 29.

In return, 369 Palestinians held in Israeli jails were released.

So far 19 hostages held in Gaza and more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners have been freed as part of the Gaza ceasefire that began on 19 January 2025.

By the end of the first six-week stage of the deal, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners are expected to have been freed.

On Saturday, in the sixth swap since last month, Israeli hostages were handed over in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Surrounded by heavily armed Hamas militants, the men briefly addressed a crowd of Palestinians before being transferred into Red Cross vehicles.

They did not look as gaunt as the hostages freed a week earlier – their appearance had aroused anger in Israel and elsewhere.

Yair Horn and his brother Eitan, 37, were both abducted from a kibbutz during the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas. Eitan Horn remains in captivity in Gaza.

The three men were airlifted by military helicopters to a hospital in central Israel where they will undergo medical tests and be reunited with relatives.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, posting on social media, said the hostages had been “forced to endure” a “despicable and cynical ceremony”.

The majority of the freed Palestinians were taken to Gaza, although some were taken to the West Bank. In both areas, crowds gathered to welcome the former prisoners.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society told the BBC that five of those released in the West Bank city of Ramallah were taken straight to hospital.

“They all have chronic illnesses,” said Mohammad Faqih, an official from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, adding that one man had a broken leg.

Most of the 36 Palestinians serving life sentences will reportedly be deported to Egypt.

Earlier this week, Hamas threatened to delay the hostage release after accusing Israel of violating the terms of the agreement, something Israel denied.

Israel, backed by US President Donald Trump, said “intense” fighting would resume unless the hostages were handed over.

The latest releases mean that under the ceasefire, Hamas is due to free another 14 hostages.

However Israel says eight are of them are dead, meaning six living Israelis are still expected to be returned in the first phase.

A total of 141 hostages have now been freed, including 81 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals released as part of a previous deal between Israel and Hamas.

About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.

This triggered a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

Following talks in Cairo, the Palestinian armed group said mediators from Egypt and Qatar had confirmed they would “remove obstacles”.

There was no response from Israel. But Egyptian and Qatari reports also said mediators had bridged the gaps between the two sides and both were committed to continue implementation.

On Tuesday, Israel said the ceasefire would end if Hamas did not return hostages by Saturday. Hamas had earlier said it was postponing releases over what it claimed were Israeli violations.

Hamas said these included a failure to allow in the agreed amounts of vital humanitarian aid, including tents and shelters, which Israel denied.

The group’s threat to derail the deal prompted US President Donald Trump to propose Israel cancel the agreement altogether and “let hell break out” unless “all of the hostages” were returned by Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he welcomed Trump’s demand and warned: “If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon [10:00 GMT], the ceasefire will end and the [Israeli military] will resume intense fighting until the final defeat of Hamas.”

However, there were conflicting messages from Israeli officials about whether he was demanding the release of all 76 hostages still in Gaza – in line with Trump’s ultimatum – or just the three due to be freed this weekend.

On Wednesday, an Egyptian security source told the BBC that Egypt and Qatar were “intensifying their diplomatic efforts in an attempt to salvage the ceasefire agreement”, as Hamas’s leader for Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, arrived in Cairo to hold talks with Egypt’s intelligence chief and other officials.

On Thursday, Hamas put out a statement saying they focused on the need for all terms of the deal to be fulfilled, particularly regarding deliveries of caravans, tents, heavy construction equipment, medical supplies and fuel.

It added that the talks were “positive” and that the mediators had agreed to work to “remove obstacles and close gaps”.

“Accordingly, Hamas reaffirms its commitment to implementing the agreement as signed, including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timeline.”

At the same time, Egyptian state-run Al Qahera TV reported that Egypt and Qatar had successfully “overcome obstacles” and that Israel and Hamas were committed to fully implementing the ceasefire deal.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV also said the negotiations had been successful and that mobile homes and heavy machinery would be allowed into Gaza on Thursday.

However, Israeli media then cited the Israeli prime minister’s office as calling the Al Jazeera report “fake news” and saying there was “no basis” to it.

An Israeli government spokesman later clarified the denial, writing on X: “There is no entry of caravans or heavy equipment into the Gaza Strip, and there is no co-ordination for this.”

The first phase of the ceasefire deal is supposed to last six weeks and see a total of 33 Israeli hostages exchanged for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza.

So far, 16 living Israeli hostages have been freed since the ceasefire took effect on 19 January. Hamas has also handed over five Thai hostages outside the terms of the deal.

The 17 other Israeli hostages due to be released during the first phase are two children, one woman, five men over the age of 50, and nine men under 50. They are supposed to be handed over in the next three weeks. Both sides have said eight of these hostages are dead, but only one has been named.

Negotiations for the ceasefire’s second phase – which should see the 43 remaining hostages released, a full Israeli withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire – have not yet begun.

The deal has also seen Israeli forces withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the north, and hundreds of aid lorries allowed into the territory each day.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

More than 48,230 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Most of Gaza’s population has also been displaced multiple times, almost 70% of buildings are estimated to be damaged or destroyed, the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.

Iraq-born Shlomo Mansour, 86, was abducted by gunmen at his home in Kibbutz Kissufim. His wife, Mazal, managed to escape.

The military said the decision to confirm Shlomo’s death was based on intelligence gathered in recent months and was approved by an expert committee of the ministry of health.

His name is on the Israeli government’s list of 33 hostages to be released by Hamas during the first phase of a ceasefire deal that is coming under growing strain.

So far, 16 living Israeli hostages have been freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails since 19 January. Hamas has also handed over five Thai hostages.

The remaining 17 Israeli hostages – two children, one woman, five men over the age of 50, and nine men under 50 – are supposed to be released over the next three weeks. Both sides have said eight of those hostages are dead but not named them.

On Monday, Hamas warned that it would postpone the scheduled release of the next group of three this weekend unless US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators addressed what it said were Israeli violations of the deal, including delays in allowing in shelters and medical supplies.

The threat prompted US President Donald Trump to propose that Israel cancel the deal and “let hell break out” if Hamas did not release all the hostages by midday on Saturday.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Hamas’s move was a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and told the Israeli military to prepare for any possible scenario in Gaza.

Shlomo Mansour was born in Baghdad and as a child survived the Farhud pogrom against the Iraqi capital’s Jewish community in 1941.

He emigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 13 and went on to help found Kibbutz Kissufim, where he worked in the chicken coop and eyewear factory.

On 7 October 2023, hundreds of Hamas-led gunmen stormed the Israel’s Gaza perimeter fence and attacked many nearby Israeli communities, including Kissufim. They killed about 1,200 people were killed and took 251 others back to Gaza as hostages.

Shlomo and Mazal – who had five children and 12 grandchildren – fled to their home’s safe room that day, but a group of gunmen fired at the door and were able to break it open. Mazal hid in the bathroom, but they found Shlomo, handcuffed him, and took him out of the house.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had informed the Mansour family that he was then murdered by the gunmen and that they took his body back to Gaza as a hostage.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and his wife, Sara, sent their heartfelt condolences to the family following the “bitter news”.

“We will neither rest nor be silent until he is returned for burial in Israel,” he added.

“We will continue to take determined and relentless action until we return all of our hostages – the living and the deceased.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents some of the hostages’ relatives, said: “We share in the profound grief of the Mansour family.”

On Monday, in response to Hamas’s threat to postpone the next hostage release, the forum called on mediators to help restore and implement the ceasefire deal effectively so that the remaining 76 hostages are brought home.

“Recent evidence from those released, as well as the shocking conditions of the hostages released last Saturday, leaves no room for doubt – time is of the essence, and all hostages must be urgently rescued from this horrific situation,” it warned.

The Israeli government was furious at the emaciated state of Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and Or Levy, 34, who were paraded in front of a crowd in Deir al-Balah before being handed over to the Red Cross.

An Israeli doctor who treated Mr Sharabi and Mr Levy said they were in a “poor medical condition”, while a hospital official said Mr Ben Ami was in a “severe nutritional sate and had lost a significant amount of his body weight”.

Meanwhile, the family of another hostage, Alon Ohel, 24, said on Sunday they had received their first indication in 16 months that he was alive from Mr Levy and Mr Sharabi, who were held captive along with him.

“Since his kidnapping, Alon has been held in harsh conditions in Hamas’s underground tunnels, without daylight or access to basic human necessities,” a statement said.

“We have been informed that Alon is wounded in his eye. Additionally, he is being held in particularly severe captivity conditions, with serious food shortages.”

The Ohel family also urged the Israeli government to advance negotiations with Hamas on the ceasefire deal’s second phase, which should see the remaining living hostages released, a permanent ceasefire, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

More than 48,200 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the 7 October attack, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The three hostages – Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy – were handed over to the Red Cross on Saturday morning before reuniting with their families in Israel.

Concerns have been raised about their wellbeing, with Mr Sharabi’s family – who live in the UK – describing their shock at his “gaunt” appearance.

Returning Palestinian prisoners were greeted with scenes of celebration at Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Representatives claimed they all needed “medical care”, without giving specifics.

So far, 21 hostages and 566 prisoners have been freed since the ceasefire began on 19 January.

By the end of the first stage of the ceasefire in three weeks time, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners are expected to have been freed. Israel says eight of the 33 are dead.

As Mr Sharabi, Mr Ben Ami and Mr Levy were handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, crowds lined up, cordoned off by a row of armed fighters, to watch and film on mobile phones, as Hamas and Palestinian flags flew.

A Hamas official and Red Cross representative signed paperwork on a stage to complete the handover. The hostages were then paraded on stage, flanked by men with guns. The three men posed holding certificates and answered questions into a microphone, before waving as they were ushered into Red Cross vehicles.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed horror at the physical state of the men who he said were “returning after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also criticised the men’s state, saying “we have seen again what the monsters of Hamas are”.

He also accused Hamas of “repeated violations” of the ceasefire deal, without providing specifics.

Speaking to BBC Arabic on Saturday, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the latest release of Israeli hostages had been carried out in a “civilised manner”.

He also accused Israel of “dragging its feet” on implementing humanitarian relief agreed as part of the ceasefire.

Netanyahu’s co-ordinator of prisoners and missing persons said Israel treated the issues with “great severity” and would raise them with ceasefire mediators and take action.

Mr Sharabi’s brother-in-law, Steve Brisley, told the BBC that having confirmation he is alive is “what we’ve been working toward for the last 16 months”.

It was “incredibly difficult” to see him “thin, gaunt” and being paraded by Hamas, Mr Brisley said. “It’s the light that’s gone from his eyes that’s really struck home for me.”

Eli Sharabi, 52, was taken from Kibbutz Beeri with his brother, Yossi, whose death has since been confirmed. Eli’s British-born wife, Lianne, and two daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were murdered in the attack.

During his release, Mr Sharabi was filmed saying he was “very happy today to return to…my wife and daughters”, adding to concerns he was unaware his family had been killed.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement that “the disturbing images” of the release “serve as yet another stark and painful evidence that leaves no room for doubt – there is no time to waste for the hostages! We must get them all out, down to the very last hostage”.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which facilitated the handover, said it was “increasingly concerned about the conditions surrounding release operations”.

“We strongly urge all parties, including the mediators, to take responsibility to ensure that future releases are dignified and private,” it said.

Later on Saturday, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners. More than 70 are serving life or long sentences, and 111 are Gazans detained during the war. Seven are due to be deported.

Seven of the released prisoners were admitted to hospital in Ramallah because of poor health, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club told AFP.

0:38Watch: Released Palestinian prisoners greeted in Ramallah

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“All the prisoners who were released today are in need of medical care, treatment, and examinations as a result of the brutality they were subjected to during the past months,” the group’s Abdullah al-Zaghari said.

One of those released was Jamal al-Tawil, 61, a prominent Hamas politician in the occupied West Bank and former mayor of the village of al-Bireh, who has spent more than 19 years in and out of Israeli prisons.

His daughter Bushra al-Tawil was freed in an earlier prisoner release in January.

Both father and daughter were most recently held without charge, media reported.

Khadra al-Daghma, the mother of another released Palestinian prisoner, described feeling “so happy, overjoyed” having seen her son for the first time in 15 years.

“My heart is filled with happiness,” she told a reporter in Gaza, adding that her son, Ammar Fadel al-Daghma, had “changed a lot” and was “not the same”.

According to the Israeli Prison Service, he was detained for offences including arson, attempted murder and service to an illegal organisation.

Hamas seized 251 hostages and killed about 1,200 people when it attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, triggering the war.

At least 47,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. About two-thirds of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed by Israel’s attacks, the UN says

Ohad Ben Ami, 56, was also taken from Kibbutz Beeri, along with his wife, Raz. She was later released by Hamas.

Mr Ben Ami, an accountant, is “known for his good judgment and sense of humour”, according to the Hostages Families Forum.

Or Levy, 34, a computer programmer from Rishon LeZion, a city south of Tel Aviv, fled the Nova festival with his wife Eynav, when gunmen attacked the event.

Mr Levy was taken hostage and Eynav’s body was found in a bomb shelter where the couple had been hiding.

In a statement, Mr Levy’s family said: “Our hearts tremble and our minds struggle to comprehend the sight of Or, who has returned to us in such a devastating state. His face bears witness to the hell he endured during 491 days in the hands of Hamas monsters.

“After an unbearable period of darkness, we can finally embrace him again and begin healing his body and spirit,” the statement said.

On Friday, Hamas accused Israel of failing to abide by its commitment to boost the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal.

The head of Hamas’s media office in Gaza, Salama Marouf said “the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic due to Israeli obstruction”.

He said only 8,500 out of an expected 12,000 aid lorries had entered Gaza since 19 January, and medical equipment and shelter supplies had been deliberately delayed.

The allegation contradicts UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who on Thursday said 10,000 lorries with food, medicine and tents had crossed into Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.

Saturday’s exchange took place as US President Donald Trump continued to push his widely criticised proposal to move all Palestinians from Gaza and redevelop it as an international travel destination.

His announcement – for the US to “take over” the Gaza Strip, resettle its Palestinian population and turn the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” – has complicated talks on the planned next stage of the ceasefire.

But Israeli negotiators are still expected to meet mediators in Qatar later on Saturday.

Trump’s idea was strongly condemned by Arab countries and the UN.

Pongsak Thaenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Saethao and Surasak Lamnao had all been working in southern Israel when they were kidnapped during the attacks by Hamas on 7 October 2023.

There were emotional scenes on Sunday morning as the five men were embraced by tearful relatives at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport’s arrivals hall.

“I don’t know how to put it into words,” released hostage Mr Pongsak said.

“I’d like to thank all the officials who were involved in helping us out until we’re standing here.

“We wouldn’t be here without you helping us. We’re very touched and very glad to have returned to our homeland. I am truly grateful.”

Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said it was “very inspiring” to witness their return following their release on 30 January.

Somboon Saethao, the father of Mr Bannawat, said he was “so happy” and that his family would welcome his son home with a traditional Thai ceremony.

“I don’t think I want him to be far from home again,” his father told AFP.

Mr Bannawat moved to Israel nine months before his kidnap in search of a better income for the family, he added.

His wife, Wiayada Saethao, told BBC Thai reporters that the 15 months her husband was held hostage were a period of suffering.

“Don’t be afraid anymore. We’re home now. We’re in Thailand. We’re going back home,” she said.

After landing in Bangkok at 07:30 local time (00:30 GMT), the five were met by a small group of overjoyed relatives and government officials.

They had spent past 10 days at an Israeli hospital so their health could be monitored.

The five men will now make their way to their home towns.

Boonsong Tapchaiyut, a labour ministry official, said each hostage would receive a one-time payment of around £14,510 (600,000 Thai baht), along with a monthly salary of £725 until the age of 80, to ensure they did not have to return to Israel.

One Thai hostage remains unaccounted for.

“For the sixth Thai hostage who still remains in Gaza, we never refrain from action, we do still have hope and will do whatever until we succeed,” said the Thai foreign minister.

Last month, after the handover of the five hostages in Khan Yunis, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she was “elated” that they were out of captivity.

She thanked Israel, as well as Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Turkey and the US for their work to secure the releases.

A total of 46 Thai workers have been killed since October 2023, according to the foreign ministry in Bangkok, the majority in the Hamas attack and some by rockets fired by the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

Hamas seized 251 hostages and killed about 1,200 people when it attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, triggering the Gaza war.

At least 47,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. About two-thirds of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed by Israel’s attacks, the UN says.

The release of the Thai hostages does not form part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal agreed on 19 January, under which 21 Israeli hostages and 566 Palestinian prisoners have been freed so far.

By the end of the first stage of the ceasefire in three weeks’ time, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners are expected to have been freed. Israel says eight of the 33 are dead.