German Hostages’ Release Reportedly Back on Track : Mideast: U.N. negotiator says no obstacles remain and 2 should be home soon.

The handover of two Germans, the last Western hostages in Lebanon, appeared back on track Tuesday after a day of apparent delay and deep confusion.

A German envoy sent to Beirut to collect them said that Heinrich Struebig, 51, and Thomas Kemptner, 30, hopefully were nearing the end of their three-year ordeal and would be flown home within a matter of hours.

U.N. hostage negotiator Giandomenico Picco, who was also working to end the waiting in Beirut, said there are no obstacles to the Germans’ release and it would probably take place by today.

Other diplomats cautioned against giving a timetable after hopes for a swift handover were dashed earlier Tuesday.

“This thing is much more complicated than we thought,” a German diplomat said.

About 20 hours after reports the two Germans had been freed and handed over to Syrian security officers, German State Minister Bernd Schmidbauer would not confirm their whereabouts.

“I am sure that within the next 12 hours we will leave for Germany. We will not leave without the hostages,” he told reporters Tuesday afternoon after talks with President Elias Hrawi.

“The ordeal of Heinrich Struebig and Thomas Kemptner is hopefully nearing an end,” Schmidbauer said before thanking Lebanese officials and regional governments for their support.

Schmidbauer returned to Beirut’s Bristol Hotel to wait while Lebanese army guards brought mattresses to the lobby and the crew of his government plane prepared to stay overnight.

Picco, who helped win the release of nine British and U.S. hostages in Lebanon last year, shuttled between Schmidbauer and meetings with officials.

In an interview with Lebanon’s national news agency, Picco, asked about obstacles to freeing the Germans, said: “There aren’t any obstacles and most likely the release will take place tonight.

“I will continue to work hard for the release of all captives,” added Picco, who is pushing for a solution to the Middle East hostage problem, including winning the release of prisoners held by Israel and freeing missing Israeli servicemen.

A German attache told reporters Tuesday that Bonn has still received no firm word on the two German hostages.

Struebig and Kemptner were held by followers of Abdel Hadi Hamadi, security chief of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah (Party of God). He had sought to swap them for his two brothers jailed in Germany.