JERUSALEM -- JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas is set to free six more Israeli hostages Saturday from the Gaza Strip, but the exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is shadowed by heightened tension between the adversaries that clouds the future of the fragile ceasefire deal.

Hamas said it would free hostages on Saturday as scheduled, backing down from a threatened indefinite delay that had cast doubt on the durability of the initial six-week Gaza ceasefire.

Hamas says it will release the next group of three Israeli hostages as planned. That would pave the way toward resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza