Hamas handed over the bodies of four hostages to the Red Cross early Thursday in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, days before the first phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was to end.
An Israeli security official confirmed that Hamas handed the hostages’ bodies to the Red Cross. Israel said the caskets were delivered with the help of Egyptian mediators through an Israeli crossing and an identification process had begun.
Prisoner Release and Emotional Reunions
At around the same time, a Red Cross convoy carrying several dozen released Palestinian prisoners left Israel’s Ofer prison headed for the West Bank town of Beitunia, where hundreds of well-wishers jostled for a glimpse of the bus as it arrived.
Friends and family greeted the released prisoners, hugging them and snapping photos. One released man made a victory sign as he was carried on the shoulders of supporters, with the crowd chanting “God is Great.” The released prisoners wore Israeli Prison Service T-shirts that some of them took off and set on fire.
Hours later, buses carrying hundreds of other Palestinian prisoners arrived in the Gaza city of Khan Younis, with some men kissing the ground as they emerged from the buses.
Challenges and Delays
Israel had delayed the release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it called the cruel treatment of hostages during their handover by Hamas. The militant group has called the delay a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and said talks on a second phase aren’t possible until the Palestinians are freed.
Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the latest release of hostages’ bodies would be carried out without ceremony, as opposed to past Hamas releases with stage-managed events in front of crowds. Israel, along with the Red Cross and U.N. officials, have called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.
Among those scheduled to leave Israel early Thursday were hundreds of detainees arrested from Gaza, held on suspicion of militancy after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, without charge for months. They include 445 men, 21 teenagers and one woman, according to lists shared by Palestinian officials that did not specify their ages.
Future Negotiations and Closure
Only around 50 Palestinians were released into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem in this round. Dozens sentenced to life over deadly attacks against Israelis will be exiled out of the Palestinian territories and taken to Egypt at least temporarily until other countries accept them.
The latest handovers would complete both sides’ obligations under the ceasefire’s first phase, during which Hamas returned 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The family of a hostage in Gaza said they were notified he is dead and his body was among those to be returned to Israel. The family did not say who informed them. Notifications typically come from Israel’s military.
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X about Israeli-French hostage Ohad Yahalomi, whose body was also expected to be released: “In these suspended hours of pain and anguish, the nation stands by their side.”
The ceasefire’s six-week first phase expires this weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase, during which all remaining hostages held by Hamas would be released and an end to the war would be negotiated.
Talks on the second phase were supposed to begin the first week of February.
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