A 72-hour deadline for the U.S. to release Muslim prisoners in exchange for the release of two Fox News journalists abducted in Gaza passed Saturday with no new information on the men's fate. Several hours before the midnight Saturday deadline passed, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said he hoped the crisis would be resolved "in the coming hours."
“We will continue our efforts and contacts to secure the release of the kidnapped journalists,” the Palestinian interior ministry spokesman Khaled Abu Hillal said an hour after the ultimatum expired. “We can confirm that they are safe and sound but we cannot give fuller details for the time being because we want our efforts to be crowned with success,” he said.
Meanwhile, American diplomats said they had no word on the two journalists who were seized by unidentified gunmen on August 14.
