Israel has released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners after Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages.
The exchange occurred on Thursday, with the Palestinian militant group returning the coffins of Itzhak Elgarat, Tsachi Idan, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur, all taken hostage during the October 7, 2023, attack.
The release of the Palestinian prisoners was initially scheduled for the weekend but was delayed due to Israel’s outrage over Hamas’s elaborate ceremonies for the handover of hostages. However, after negotiations, an agreement was reached, and the exchange took place.
In Gaza and the occupied West Bank, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were seen arriving on buses accompanied by Red Cross vehicles. Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News reported that 97 prisoners arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.
Hamas stated that Israel now has no choice but to start negotiations on a second phase of the ceasefire deal, which went into effect on January 19 and ends on Saturday. The deal has largely halted the war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, with 25 hostages released alive in exchange for over 1,100 prisoners.
The Israeli military reported carrying out airstrikes on several launch sites inside Gaza after a projectile was fired from there on Wednesday. In Washington, US President Donald Trump’s top envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, announced that Israeli representatives were en route to talks on the next phase of the ceasefire.
The exchange occurred a day after the funeral of Shiri Bibas and her sons, who were killed in captivity in Gaza. The Israeli parliament held a minute of silence to mourn their deaths, as well as those of other victims of Hamas’s October 7 attack.