Egypt prepares to receive Israel hostages from Hamas - statement

Egypt is preparing to receive a number of Israeli hostages that will be released by Palestinian militant group Hamas as part of a truce and hostage swap deal agreed with Israel under Qatari and Egyptian mediation, Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) said in a statement on Friday.

"Egypt's mediation efforts have yielded the release of 12 Thai hostages and 13 Israelis, including women and children, held by Hamas," the government media office said.