Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages, while it awaited the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners by Israel in return, an overnight exchange that marked the final exchange as part of a fragile truce in Gaza.
The ceasefire came into effect on January 19 and, despite many setbacks, was held to a large extent. But its first phase ends this week, and its next phase’s fate is intended to end the war, which is not yet clear. Hamas said no advice has been received so far.
After a few days of stalemate, Egyptian mediators fixed the handover of the last four hostage agencies in the first phase of the deal, with 620 Palestinians either being detained by Israeli forces in Gaza or sentenced to jail in Israel.
Israel refused to release prisoners on Saturday after Hamas awarded six hostages at a staged ceremony.
Tensions at previous rituals
Hamas has been showing the hostages and coffins to the Gaza crowd before it, and then handing them over to the Gaza stage to criticize including the United Nations.
The final handover does not include such a ceremony.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in the early hours of Thursday that Israel received a coffin carrying four hostages.
Hamas has previously identified the bodies as the bodies of Dune Yidan, Yizhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and shlomo Manzur, who were kidnapped in an attack on a Kibbutz house near Gaza on October 7, 2023.
The bodies are being initially identified in the Israeli region and will be formally notified to the hostages once the process is completed, the Netanyahu office said in a statement.
The deal was previously proposed after Hamas handed over an unidentified woman instead of Shiri Bibas’s remains before delivering the correct body the next day.
Israel’s Ministry of Health said a comprehensive forensic examination to determine the cause of death of the last four.
According to Israeli authorities, about 30 hostages were killed in Gaza.
Leaves
Palestinian detainees released include 445 men and 24 women and minors arrested in Gaza, as well as 151 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment for a fatal attack on Israel, according to Hamas sources.
Live footage showed a bus carrying some released Palestinian prisoners stayed in Israel’s Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank a few minutes later, reaching the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
The group got out and cheered hundreds of people gathered from outside, some of the released men wearing green jackets and Keffiyehs, hung high by the crowd.
It is not clear when the next detainee will be released.
The first phase of the ceasefire included the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages of about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from certain positions in Gaza and the influx of aid.
However, with the 42-day truce that expires on Saturday, it is not clear whether an agreement will be reached to allow the extension to see more of the remaining 59 hostages free, or whether negotiations can begin in the second phase of the deal.
