In a significant development, an Israeli security official has confirmed that Hamas has transferred four bodies to the Red Cross. This move is part of an ongoing ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, under which Israel is expected to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the coming hours. The transfer marks the final phase of the release of hostages and prisoners agreed upon last month. Officially, this truce is set to end on Saturday, though it remains uncertain whether discussions to extend the ceasefire have commenced.
The bodies, handed over by Hamas early Thursday local time, have yet to be identified. In response, Israel has announced it will deploy a team of experts from the National Center for Forensic Medicine to the Kerem Shalom border crossing to assist in identifying the deceased hostages. An Israeli official previously stated that the release of Palestinian prisoners would only proceed once the bodies of the hostages were positively identified.
A previous release led to controversy when a body handed over by Hamas, believed to be that of hostage Shiri Bibas, turned out to be an unidentified Gazan woman. Hamas later attributed the error to a mix-up and subsequently returned Bibas' body.
If the four bodies are confirmed to belong to the hostages, it would mean that, according to Israeli figures, Hamas and its allies currently hold 59 captives. More than half of these are presumed dead by the Israeli government. Notably, Hadar Goldin has been held since before October 7, 2023, and is believed to be deceased.
On Wednesday, the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that the remains of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur would be handed over. The Israeli military has previously confirmed that Mantzur, aged 85 and the oldest hostage from the October 7, 2023, attack, was killed during the incident, though it had not confirmed the deaths of the others.
The latest transfer was conducted privately after the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced an agreement for the return of the four individuals "in an agreed-upon procedure and without Hamas ceremonies." This handover had been uncertain since Saturday when Israel withheld the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners in protest against what it described as "humiliating ceremonies" by Hamas during previous releases.
Earlier that Saturday, Hamas released six Israeli hostages from Gaza in two public ceremonies and one private transfer, concluding the return of living hostages in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement initiated last month.
The release list includes Nael Barghouti, the longest-serving Palestinian political prisoner. Arrested in 1978 for alleged attacks against the Israeli military, Nael was released in 2011 as part of an Israel-Hamas deal that exchanged 1,100 Palestinians for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. He was re-arrested in 2014 for "Hamas membership" and has been serving a life sentence since.
Among the 151 prisoners serving life or long sentences due to be released to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, or exiled is Bilal Abu Ghanem, convicted for the murder of three Israelis on a Jerusalem bus in 2015.
This is a developing story and further updates will follow. Lauren Izso contributed reporting.
