Hamas will return the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages on Thursday in exchange for Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the group said, just days before the first phase of the ceasefire between the warring parties was to expire.
Israel has delayed the release of some 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it says is the cruel treatment of hostages during their release by Hamas.
The group has said the delay is a “serious violation” of their ceasefire and that talks on a second phase are not possible until the Palestinians are freed.
Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas would hand over the bodies of four Israelis the next day.
In exchange, Israel would release the Palestinian prisoners, as well as an unspecified number of women and minors detained since the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the conflict.
An Israeli official confirmed that the bodies of four hostages were expected to be turned over but provided no further details. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Israel and Hamas had already said on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached to return the bodies of the hostages, but no date had been announced.
Hamas 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 deadlock over the 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.
It also could clear the way for an expected visit this week by the White House’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the region.
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 United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of heavy fighting that erupted after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 people hostage.
Israel’s military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population and decimated the territory’s infrastructure and health system. The Hamas-run Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but it says that over half of the dead have been women and children.
