Israeli and Hamas officials say the latest impasse in the Gaza ceasefire deal has been resolved by mediators.
Israel had delayed the release of 600 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday in protest at what it said was the cruel treatment of Israeli hostages being handed over by Hamas. Hamas said this was a serious violation of the deal.
It is now expected that the prisoners will be freed as well as another group, possibly later on Wednesday or Thursday, in exchange for the return of the bodies of four hostages.
That would clear the way for US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to visit the region. He has said he wants Israel and Hamas to begin delayed talks on the second stage of the ceasefire.
News of the breakthrough came as thousands of Israelis gathered in the central city of Rishon LeZion to watch the funeral procession of hostages Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, whose bodies were returned by Hamas last week.
They were killed in captivity after being kidnapped during Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.
Hamas said in a statement on Tuesday night that a delegation led by the group’s Gaza leader, Khalil al-Hayya, had concluded a trip to Cairo after reaching an agreement to resolve the problem over the delayed release of the Palestinian prisoners.
“They will be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli [hostages] agreed to be handed over during the first phase, in addition to the corresponding Palestinian women and children,” it added.
Hayya also reiterated Hamas’s commitment to the ceasefire deal “with all its stages and clauses”.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli government.
But Israeli sources told the Haaretz newspaper that the bodies of the four hostages were likely to be handed over by Hamas on Wednesday evening at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza.
The source added that the families of the four hostages had been notified.
They were not identified, but are believed to be Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, Tsachi Idan, 50, and Itzik Elgarat, 69.
Egyptian officials said Hamas had agreed to hand over the bodies on Thursday without any ceremonies inside Gaza.
Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US, UK and other countries – had warned earlier this week that it would not take part in indirect talks about further steps in the ceasefire unless the prisoners were released.
The 620 Palestinian prisoners – including more than 400 Gazans detained by Israeli forces during the war and 50 prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails – were supposed to have been released in return for six living and four dead hostages handed over by Hamas last week.
A total of 33 Israeli hostages are supposed to be exchanged for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza during the ceasefire deal’s first phase, which is due to end on Saturday.
So far, 25 living hostages and four dead hostages have been released. Both Israel and Hamas have said the last four hostages are dead. Five living Thai hostages have also been freed outside the deal.
The agreement has also seen Israeli forces withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been allowed to return to their homes in the north and hundreds of aid lorries are now being allowed into the territory each day.
The ceasefire’s second phase should see the 57 remaining hostages released, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the 7 October attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
At least 48,348 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of Gaza’s population of 2.1 million has also been displaced multiple times, almost 70% of buildings are estimated to be damaged or destroyed, the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
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