Israel receives bodies of 4 deceased hostages in exchange: Israeli PM
Israel and Hamas have moved forward with a hostage exchange, with the bodies of four dead hostages returned to Israel, officials said.
Israel has received the "coffins of four deceased abductees" that had been transferred from Hamas to the Red Cross, the Israeli Prime Minister's office said in a statement.
"An initial identification process has now begun on Israeli territory," the statement added.
Hamas had previously identified the dead hostages as Tzachi Idan, Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Shlomo Mantzur.
Hamas was expected to return the bodies late Wednesday local time in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. A convoy of Red Cross vehicles left Ofer prison in Israel early Thursday local time carrying Palestinian prisoners, who remain in Israeli custody.
The hostage-prisoner exchange is part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that was reached in January. Last week, Israel did not release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners it had agreed to release after Hamas returned a wrong body in place of the body of one of the dead hostages it said it would return. The correct body was later returned to Israel.
Phase two of the ceasefire is scheduled to go into effect on Saturday, but negotiations over the details have stalled.
"No proposal was presented to the movement regarding the second phase, despite our readiness for it and our keenness to move forward with it to complete all stages of the agreement," Hamas said.
According to the ceasefire agreement, phase two is expected to include the following: Israeli forces are to completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip, the remaining hostages are to be released in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, and all military operations and all hostilities are to permanently stop.
The Arab League is holding a summit in Egypt on Tuesday to strategize a proposal to counter President Donald Trump's proposal to forcibly expel Palestinians from their land in Gaza and reconstruct the strip -- a proposal that experts and U.S. allies have said violates international law.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
