KHAN YOUNIS: Hamas said Thursday it was ready to negotiate the the next phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after a swap in which it handed over what it said were the remains of four hostages in exchange for the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
It was the final such exchange the two sides agreed to as part of a truce that’s set to end this weekend. Negotiations over a second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more prisoners and a lasting ceasefire, have not yet begun.
Hamas said in a statement that the “only way” for Israel to secure the release of the remaining hostages was through negotiations and adhering to the agreement. It warned that any attempt to pull back from the truce “will only lead to more suffering” for the captives and their families.
Hamas confirmed that over 600 prisoners had been released overnight. Most were detainees returned to Gaza, where they had been rounded up after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war and held without charge on security suspicions.
A joyful return for released prisoners
Some of the released prisoners fell to their knees in gratitude after disembarking from buses in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In the West Bank town of Beitunia, dozens of prisoners were welcomed by crowds of relatives and well-wishers.
The released prisoners, some of whom had been serving life sentences over deadly attacks against Israelis, wore shirts issued by the Israeli prison service bearing a message in Arabic about pursuing one’s enemies. Some of the prisoners threw the shirts on the ground or set them on fire.
Israel delayed the release of the prisoners on Saturday over Hamas’ practice of parading hostages before crowds and cameras during their release. Israel, along with the Red Cross and UN officials, have called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.
Hamas released the four bodies to the Red Cross in Gaza overnight without a public ceremony.
The prisoners released Thursday included 445 men, 21 teenagers and one woman, according to lists shared by Palestinian officials that did not specify their ages. Only around 50 Palestinians were released into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem in this round, while dozens sentenced to life over deadly attacks against Israelis were exiled.
Last handover in ceasefire’s first phase
The latest handover was the final one planned under the ceasefire’s first phase, during which Hamas returned 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli authorities were in the process of identifying the four bodies handed over on Thursday with DNA testing.
The family of hostage Tsachi Idan said Wednesday they had been told he is dead and his body was among those to be returned to Israel.
Idan was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as militants shot through the door of the family’s safe room. Hamas militants broadcast themselves on Facebook holding the family hostage in their home as two younger children pleaded to be let go.
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X about Israeli-French hostage Ohad Yahalomi, whose body was also expected to be released: “In these suspended hours of pain and anguish, the nation stands by their side.”
The truce is in peril
The ceasefire’s six-week first phase expires this weekend. US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase. Those talks were supposed to begin the first week of February.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to return all the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza. The Trump administration has endorsed both goals.
But it’s unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages — its main bargaining chips — without a lasting ceasefire.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of war that erupted after Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 people were taken hostage.
If the identities of the four bodies are confirmed, then 59 captives will remain in Gaza, 32 of whom are believed to be dead. Nearly 150 have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals, while dozens of bodies have been recovered by Israeli forces and eight captives have been rescued alive.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say over half the dead have been women and children.
The fighting displaced an estimated 90 percent of Gaza’s population and decimated the territory’s infrastructure and health system.
