Hamas is set to hand over the bodies of four hostages in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, just days before the first phase of the ceasefire between the warring parties was to expire.
Israel has delayed the release of about 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it says is the cruel treatment of hostages during their release by Hamas.
The militant group has said that the delay was a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and that talks on a second phase are not possible until the Palestinians are freed.
A home belonging to the Tambora family, which was struck by an Israeli airstrike, stands in ruins in Gaza (AP)
Plans for the release later on Wednesday of the hostage bodies were confirmed by Israel’s government and by Hamas’s military wing in a statement by Abu Obeida, spokesman of the Qassam Brigades, on the Telegram messaging app.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the releases of the bodies would be carried out without a ceremony, in a quieter fashion than past Hamas releases, when captives have been made to partake in highly stage-managed ceremonies.
Israel’s prison service said it was making preparations to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club, a group that represents current and former prisoners, said the release would happen at 11pm.
Israel also was expected to release an unspecified number of women and minors detained since the militant group’s Octover 7 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the conflict.
Hamas previously has released hostages and the bodies of four dead hostages in large public ceremonies during which the Israelis were paraded and forced to wave to large crowds.
Israel, along with the Red Cross and UN officials, have said the ceremonies were humiliating to the hostages, and Israel last weekend delayed the scheduled prisoner release in protest.
The family of a hostage held in Gaza said they were notified that he is dead and that his body one of the four to be returned by Hamas late on Wednesday.
Mourners gather around the convoy carrying the coffins of slain hostages Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir (AP)
Relatives of Tsachi Idan said that he was alive when taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 2023, according to a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the group representing families of the hostages.
Mr Idan was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as militants shot through the door of the saferoom.
Hamas militants broadcast themselves on Facebook live holding the Idan family hostage in their home, as his two younger children pleaded with the militants to let them go.
The family did not specify who informed them Mr Idan was dead, although notifications typically come from the Israeli military.
– A fragile ceasefire in peril
A deadlock over the latest exchange had threatened to collapse the ceasefire when the current six-week first phase of the deal expires this weekend.
The latest agreement would complete both sides’ obligations of the first phase of the ceasefire — during which Hamas is returning 33 hostages, including eight bodies — in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Rawia Tambora and her son Yazan wash dishes next to their home, which was struck by an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza (AP)
It also could clear the way for an expected visit this week by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the region.
Mr Witkoff has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase, during which all remaining hostages held by Hamas are to be released and an end to the war is to be negotiated.
The Phase 2 talks were supposed to begin weeks ago, but never did.
The ceasefire, brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of heavy fighting that erupted after Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people.
About 250 people were taken hostage.
– Israel buries mother and sons killed in captivity in Gaza
Tens of thousands of Israelis lined highways as the bodies of a mother and her two young sons, killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip, were taken for burial on Wednesday.
The bodies of Shiri Bibas and her sons, nine-month-old Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were handed over earlier this month as part of a ceasefire deal that paused the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel says forensic evidence shows the two children were killed by their captors in November 2023, while Hamas says the family was killed along with their guards in an Israeli airstrike.
Yarden Bibas was abducted separately and released alive in a different handover last month.
His wife and their two children were buried in a private ceremony near Kibbutz Nir Oz near Gaza, where they were living when they were abducted.
The three were buried in a joint grave next to Shiri’s parents, who were also killed in the attack.