After a series of dramatic events, the Palestinian militant group Hamas has handed over the remains of four Israeli hostages it killed. Israel has since begun releasing hundreds of Palestinians under the deal.
The Times of Israel reported, citing sources, that Hamas handed over the bodies of the Israeli hostages late Wednesday night as part of the final exchange of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. As their bodies were arriving in Israel, the freed Palestinians were being loaded onto buses around 1 a.m.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that the Red Cross had handed over the bodies of the hostages to Israeli forces, who brought them to the Kerem Shalom crossing for initial forensic examinations, while also confirming the release of the Palestinian prisoners.
Earlier, Hamas began to delay the handover of the hostage's body. This made the release of 620 Palestinians from Israeli prisons uncertain. This incident further increased the possibility of the ceasefire collapsing. Israel said that it would suspend the release of the Palestinians until it guarantees the end of the Hamas-led campaign to hand over the body. On the other hand, Hamas announced that it would not sit for the second phase of the ceasefire talks if the Palestinians were not released.
Mediating countries discussed this with both sides. Finally, the exchange took place a few days after the scheduled time. According to the agreement, 620 Palestinians will be released from Israeli prisons in this round. Those involved in the prisoner transport, including the Red Cross, hope that they will arrive from Israel to Palestine by Thursday.
Israel has handed over 97 Palestinians to Egypt, according to the latest reports. The bus carrying them arrived in the West Bank via Gaza early Thursday morning. Thousands of people welcomed them there. Relatives hugged the freed ones and burst into tears.
In addition, 37 prisoners arrived in Ramallah. Five more prisoners in East Jerusalem were taken by Israeli police from the Russian Compound detention center to their homes in the city. Some prisoners were taken to the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis. They were also released, the Israeli army said.
