 "People hold placards, as they attend a protest in support of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7 2023 attack by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Reuters")
Hamas will hand over the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday and six living captives will be released on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday.
“Understandings have been reached in the Cairo negotiations according to which six living first-stage hostages will be released on Saturday,” the PM’s office said on X.
Thirty-three Israeli hostages were due to be released under the first phase, with 19 freed so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners. Of the remaining 14, Israel says eight are dead.
A Palestinian source close to the negotiations told AFP that mediators had presented the request for the new releases, adding they aimed “for this step to create a positive atmosphere, insisting on the continuation of the ceasefire”.
The announcement comes after Israel said that negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire will begin soon.
Although talks on the second phase of the ceasefire were supposed to happen before the first phase ends on March 2, mediator Qatar has announced that discussions have not begun yet.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsA “Hezbollah model” in Gaza would not be acceptable to Israel “and therefore we need a total demilitarisation of Gaza and no presence of the Palestinian Authority”, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.
The foreign minister added that Israel was aware of an alternative plan by Arab states for Gaza, made to counter US President Donald Trump’s proposal to redevelop the strip under US control, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said is worthy of exploration.
Israel would not support a plan that would see civilian control of Gaza transferred from Hamas to the Palestinian Authority, Saar said.
With inputs from agencies