Palestinian gunmen gather ahead of sixth hostage-prisoner swap

Gaza militants are due to release three Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for 369 Palestinians in Israeli custody, the sixth swap of a truce that came close to collapse this week.

Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of violating the January 19 ceasefire, with the Palestinian group saying it would pause releases and Israel threatening the resumption of war in the Gaza Strip.

But on Friday both sides signalled that the hostage release scheduled for Saturday would go ahead. On Saturday morning, dozens of Hamas fighters lined up in the main southern city of Khan Yunis around a stage bearing the logo of the group's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades. Sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad said the groups had deployed about 200 militants for the handover ceremony.