Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages to mediators late Wednesday night. In response, Israel released 625 Palestinian prisoners whose release was supposed to take place last Saturday but was postponed “until the release of the next hostages is guaranteed, and without humiliating ceremonies.”
Hamas hands over four Israeli hostages’ bodies
The bodies of Itzhak Elgarat, Tsachi Idan, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur will be returned home. Officially, the names of the dead, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office says, will be confirmed only after an Israeli forensic examination.
The hostages’ families were told in advance of the pending exchange. “We are waiting, but we will have full confidence that it is Tsachi only after all the necessary forensic examinations,” family representatives of Tsachi Idan said.
Israel said that despite Hamas claims of a simultaneous exchange, the Palestinian prisoners would only be handed over after the four Israeli bodies were identified, which could take many hours.
Tsachi Idan was last seen by his wife Gali when he was taken away by Hamas militants. Their family were ambushed in a safe room at Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
Gali told the BBC that their eldest daughter Maayan had just turned 18. She had been shot dead. Ohad Yahalomi was abducted from his kibbutz along with his 12-year-old son Ethan, who was released in the autumn of 2023. According to Ohad’s mother Esther, her daughter-in-law and two granddaughters managed to escape when five gunmen broke into their home, but they captured Ohad and Ethan.
Itzhak Elgarat, 69, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. He called his younger brother on 7 October 2022 at approximately 11:30 and reported that he had been severely injured while trying to close the door of a safe room. According to Israeli press reports, 86-year-old Iraqi-born Shlomo Mansour was the oldest hostage taken by the Hamas group. He was captured in his home in Kibbutz Kissufim. According to the Israeli military, militants killed him and took his body to the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian group has released more than 25 live captives since the first phase of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect on January 19, and each time it has been in large crowds. Israel accused Hamas of “cynically using the hostages for propaganda purposes.” The live ones were photographed against the group’s banners and forced to wave to the crowd, while the coffins containing the bodies of four hostages returned last week were first put on public display against propaganda posters.
Freed Palestinian prisoners arrive in Ramallah in the West Bank
A bus carrying Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails has arrived in the West Bank.
As part of the agreements between Israel and Hamas, 641 Palestinians have been released. They were handed over to the Red Cross after Israel received the bodies of four Israelis previously held in Gaza. This completes the first phase of the agreement, which brought the number of Palestinians released to 1,776.
The prisoners were held in Israel’s Ofer and Ketziyot prisons. After their release, they were taken to Ramallah, where hundreds of people gathered outside the Cultural Palace. Families and locals greeted them with jubilation, chanting prayers and raising flags.
Many of the liberated could barely contain their emotions as they hugged their loved ones after years of separation. Among them, however, were those who complained of deteriorating health.
Ramallah and El-Bireh Governor Leila Ghanim said some former prisoners suffered from skin diseases and needed medical attention. She also noted that Israel had tried to humiliate the released by forcing them to wear “provocative” clothes with offensive inscriptions, but the Palestinian side promptly provided them with new uniforms.
