It is believed that at least two of the six American hostages still held in Gaza are alive — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, who grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Edan Alexander, 19, from Tenafly, New Jersey. Four other Americans are believed to have been killed in captivity.

The release planned for Thursday would be the third so far as Israel and Hamas observe a six-week truce, part of a multiphase agreement that mediators hope will end the war in Gaza.

The cease-fire has held despite a dispute earlier this week over the sequence in which the hostages were released.