Hamas handed over four deceased hostages to the Red Cross in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, just days before the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire is set to expire.
Israel confirmed that the caskets were delivered early Thursday with the assistance of Egyptian mediators through an Israeli crossing, and the identification process is now underway.
Around the same time, a Red Cross convoy transporting dozens of released Palestinian prisoners departed from Israel’s Ofer prison. In Beitunia, cheering crowds of families, friends, and supporters gathered, eagerly trying to catch a glimpse of the bus carrying the freed detainees.
Why It Matters
This prisoner-hostage exchange marks the completion of both sides’ obligations under the ceasefire’s first phase, which has seen Hamas return 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
What To Know
Israel had postponed the scheduled release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday, citing Hamas’ treatment of hostages during their handover as inhumane. Hamas condemned the delay, calling it a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and warning that negotiations for a second phase would not proceed until all Palestinian prisoners were released.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had stated that Israel would carry out the release of hostage remains without a ceremony, in contrast to previous Hamas-led exchanges that featured stage-managed events before large crowds. Both Israel, the Red Cross, and U.N. officials have criticized these public handovers, calling them humiliating for the hostages.
Among those released Thursday were hundreds of detainees from Gaza, many held without formal charges following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack. According to Palestinian officials, the released individuals included 445 men, 21 teenagers, and one woman, though their exact ages were not specified.
In this round, only 50 Palestinians were freed into the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Several prisoners convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis are set to be exiled to Egypt, awaiting placement in third countries.
One of the hostages, Tsachi Idan, was confirmed dead by Israeli authorities and is among those returned. His family did not specify who informed them, though notifications typically come from Israel’s military. Idan was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, and his eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed when militants shot through the safe room door. Hamas militants broadcast their raid on Facebook Live, showing his two younger children pleading for their release.
Ceasefire at Risk
The first phase of the six-week ceasefire expires this weekend, raising concerns over whether fighting will resume. U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has said he wants both sides to begin negotiations for a second phase, during which all remaining hostages would be released and a permanent end to the war would be discussed.
These negotiations were originally scheduled to start in early February.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, ended 15 months of war triggered by Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of approximately 250 hostages.
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who do not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but estimate that more than half of those killed were women and children.
The conflict has also displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s population and crippled the territory’s infrastructure and healthcare system, leaving millions in urgent need of aid.
