Er ... maybe? Reports last night indicated that Hamas has reversed course and recommitted to the previous Phase 1 scheduled hostage release this weekend. Other news reports from the region demonstrate wide gaps in what each side thinks the agreement states.

First, the good-ish news. For the moment, Hamas says it will release three live hostages on Saturday (local time) as agreed. Netanyahu had expected nine, Donald Trump wanted all of the hostages, but Israel says they'll stick to the agreement for three hostages ... for now:

Israel is optimistic that the hostage deal can be continued and that the next release of hostages can be achieved on Saturday, a source with knowledge told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. 

The Post learned on Thursday that Israeli ministers were insistent on "upholding the agreements as they are."

Later on Thursday, Hamas confirmed its commitment to the continuation of the hostage-ceasefire deal in a statement on Telegram. 

"Hamas confirms its continued position to implement the agreement in accordance with what was signed" and "the specified timetable," the Hamas statement read.

"Optimistic" isn't exactly the right word, according to the Times of Israel. They're playing along with Phase 1 for the moment, but Netanyahu isn't bothering to discuss Phase 2 with his war cabinet. With Hamas playing hokey-pokey through Phase 1, what's the point?

Israeli television meanwhile reported that Netanyahu told Tuesday’s cabinet meeting that there was no point in discussing the second phase of the hostage deal at the moment, while the fate of the first stage was still up in the air.

“There is no point in discussing the second phase because it is just a hypothetical issue at the moment,” Netanyahu was quoted by Channel 13 news as saying in leaked remarks from the closed-door meeting.

Even the restart announced last night is questionable. Hamas declared that they would release hostages, but only with the added condition of heavy construction equipment and mobile homes. Social media accounts published pictures of these supposedly at a Gaza checkpoint, but Netanyahu's spokesman said no such agreement exists -- and the pictures were taken in Egypt, not Israel:

According to Al Jazeera, mobile homes and heavy equipment will be allowed into the Strip today. Hamas has been protesting that Israel was blocking their entry and said earlier today that talks to get the ceasefire-hostage deal back on track had included discussions on a number of specific items, including the homes and equipment.

Al Jazeera broadcast images of trucks waiting to enter Gaza, apparently carrying mobile homes and earth-moving equipment.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office issues a denial, saying the Al Jazeera report is “fake news” and “there is no basis” to it.

Netanyahu’s spokesman Omer Dostri follows up with a clarification that “there is no entry of mobile homes or heavy equipment into Gaza, and there is no coordination for it.”

So this leaves us ... where, exactly? Hamas has not departed from its usual strategy of demanding new concessions to complete previous agreements. Moreover, they are running out of live hostages, which means their leverage is disappearing without getting any firm commitment to end the war Hamas started. As their bargaining position continues to erode, Hamas will ramp up its Hokey Pokey in the hopes that the West and Israel's Arab allies will increase pressure to let Hamas off the hook.

As long as Hamas holds live hostages, Netanyahu probably has to play along -- to a point. He cannot afford the political consequences of blowing off real chances to free captive Israelis, even though Netanyahu knows that response incentivizes future hostage-taking. The main pressure on Netanyahu is now domestic, thanks to the change in administrations in the US, but that domestic political pressure is massive. Hamas will have to renege in an undeniable manner to get around it and return to war. 

However, Hamas almost did that this week -- and may still do so. Israel's defense minister Israel Katz made it clear that the "all hell" strategy is on the table, and Gazans won't be prepared for the difference:

If Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages by Saturday, all hell will break loose, exactly as US President Donald Trump promised, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday.

Katz also threatened Hamas terrorists, stating that "if they stop releasing the hostages, then there is no agreement, and there is war."

"The new Gaza war will be different in intensity from the one before the ceasefire – and it will not end without Hamas’ defeat and the release of all the hostages," Katz said.

What the Hamas Hokey Pokey tells us is that it will come down to the "all hell" strategy at some point. Neither Israel nor the US plan to allow Hamas to remain in Gaza, and Hamas has no intention of bargaining for its exit. At some point the music stops and the "all hell" strategy will be necessary to bring Hamas' war to an actual end.