The exchange follows negotiations with Egyptian mediators in Cairo.
In an overnight exchange that marked the final swap in phase one of an ongoing cease-fire deal, Hamas released the bodies of four deceased Israeli hostages on Feb. 26 before Israel later released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
After it began on Jan. 19, the fragile cease-fire deal has held despite numerous setbacks. With the first phase set to end this week, the potential success of the next phase, which seeks to end the Israel–Hamas war, is still unclear. Hamas claims it hasn’t received any proposals yet but said on Feb. 25 that it agreed to the prisoner-hostage exchange after its delegation visited Cairo.
Following days of uncertainty, Egyptian mediators succeeded in getting Hamas to hand over the final four bodies in the ceasefire deal’s first phase in exchange for 620 Palestinians that Israeli forces had either jailed in Gaza or Israel.
According to the Red Cross, all of the Israeli hostages were abducted from their kibbutz homes near Gaza during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas forces. Hamas previously identified the deceased victims as Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur.
The Israeli health ministry said Israeli forensic teams will confirm the bodies’ identities at the border with Gaza.
Hamas released the hostages’ bodies without spectacle. Previously, Hamas staged ceremonies with living hostages and coffins with hostage bodies in front of crowds in Gaza before returning them to Israel, garnering sharp criticism, even from the United Nations.
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After Hamas handed over six hostages through one of those “humiliating ceremonies,” Israel on Saturday declined to release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Those included 445 men and 24 women and minors arrested in Gaza, and 151 prisoners serving life sentences for the terrorist attacks on Israel, according to Hamas.
Live footage of the release of Palestinian prisoners showed a bus containing several prisoners leaving Israel’s Ofer prison in the West Bank before arriving in the Palestinian city of Ramallah minutes later.
Those exiting the bus were met with cheers from a crowd gathered outside, and several were hoisted above the onlookers.
The first phase of the cease-fire saw the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom were deceased, for roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including the influx of aid and the withdrawal of the Israeli military from several places in Gaza.
However, with the 42-day deal set to expire on March 1, it’s not clear whether negotiations on the deal’s second stage can begin or if an extension could result in the release of the 59 remaining hostages held by Hamas, of which 29 to 30 are believed by Israel to still be alive.
Reuters contributed to this report.
