A female civilian hostage in the Gaza Strip is to be released next week, a representative of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad told dpa on Saturday.
The woman is alive and will be released as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas, it said.
The announcement came after four female soldiers were freed by Hamas on Saturday in exchange for the release of a group of Palestinian prisoners by Israel.
The Israeli government said in a statement that the release of the civilian hostage had been expected on Saturday. According to the ceasefire agreement, female civilian hostages should be freed before female soldiers.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari accused Hamas of violating the agreement on the release of hostages.
As a result, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said residents of the Gaza Strip would not be allowed to travel back to the north of the territory until the woman was released.
He said Israel would nonetheless release the Palestinian prisoners as agreed.
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