Israel and Hamas reach Gaza ceasefire and hostage release de

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sraeli and Hamas officials said Tuesday they had reached an agreement to exchange the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, keeping their fragile ceasefire intact for at least a few more days. Israel said the exchange would take place late Wednesday evening.

Israel has delayed the release of 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it says is the cruel treatment of hostages during releases by Hamas since the ceasefire took effect on January 19. The terrorist group called the delay a "serious violation" of the ceasefire and said talks on a second phase were not possible until the prisoners are freed.

The deadlock had threatened to collapse the ceasefire when the current six-week first phase of the deal expires on Saturday. But late Tuesday, Hamas said an agreement had been reached to resolve the dispute during meetings in Cairo.

In a brief statement on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed that an agreement had been reached by the mediators, adding that "our four fallen hostages will be returned tonight as part of Phase A, under an agreed procedure and without Hamas ceremonies."

The breakthrough appeared to clear the way for the return of the bodies of four more dead hostages and hundreds of additional Israeli-held prisoners scheduled to be released under the ceasefire.

The prisoners previously slated for release "will be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners who were agreed to be handed over," along with the release of a new set of Palestinian prisoners, Hamas said in a statement.

So far Hamas has released living Israeli hostages and the bodies of dead captives in large public ceremonies during which the Israelis were paraded and forced to wave to large crowds. Israel, along with the Red Cross and U.N. officials, have said the ceremonies were humiliating to the hostages, and Israel last weekend delayed the scheduled prisoner release in protest.

The latest agreement would complete both sides' obligations of the first phase of the ceasefire — during which Hamas is mean to return 33 hostages — including eight bodies — in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

It also could clear the way for a likely return visit to the region by the White House's Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

He said at a Tuesday event in Washington for the American Jewish Committee that Israeli representatives were already on their way to engage in talks on the next phase of the ceasefire deal, and he repeated that he was also ready to head back to the region, according to the French news agency AFP.

"We're making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak," Witkoff said, adding that talks could resume in Cairo or Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Witkoff has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase, during which all remaining hostages held by Hamas are to be released and an end to the war is to be negotiated. The phase-two talks were supposed to begin weeks ago but never did.

Militant group Hamas said on Thursday it was ready to begin talks on the second phase of a ceasefire in Gaza after several hundred Palestinians were released from Israeli jails overnight in return for the bodies of four Israeli hostages.

In a statement early Thursday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had ordered a delegation of negotiators to be send to Cairo, Egypt the same day to continue talks.

It was the final exchange of the six-week first phase of a ceasefire that came into effect on January 19 in the war in Gaza.

Talks have yet to begin on a second phase, meant to lead ultimately to a permanent end to the war that began in October, 2023 when Hamas-led fighters stormed Israeli towns and Israel responded with a retaliatory assault that has devastated the enclave.

Hamas said on Thursday the only way remaining hostages in Gaza would be freed is through commitment to the ceasefire.

“We renew our full commitment to the ceasefire agreement, and confirm our readiness to enter into negotiations for the second phase of the agreement,” the group said in a statement.

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said returning the remaining 59 hostages was a top priority, but that there will be no agreement on the second stage of the ceasefire if Hamas is left intact in Gaza.

“Our demands are clear,” Cohen, a security cabinet member, told public broadcaster Kan.

Cohen said Israel was in a stronger position to negotiate now than it was on the eve of the ceasefire because it has full backing from the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, which this month began shipping heavy bombs.

Egyptian mediators on Wednesday secured the handover of the bodies of the final four hostages in the deal’s first phase, in return for 620 Palestinians either detained by Israeli forces in Gaza or jailed in Israel.

Hamas had been displaying living hostages and coffins carrying hostage remains on stage in front of a crowd in Gaza before handing them over, to sharp criticism including from the United Nations.

The final handover did not include such a ceremony.

Israel received coffins carrying the remains of the four hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in the early hours of Thursday.

President Isaac Herzog in a post on X confirmed the bodies as those of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Shlomo Mantzur, all of whom were abducted during the October 7, 2023 attack from their kibbutz homes near Gaza.

The Palestinians released overnight include 445 men and 24 women and minors detained in Gaza, as well as 151 prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis, according to a Hamas source.

One bus transported detainees from Israel’s Ofer prison in the Occupied West Bank to Ramallah where cheering crowds had gathered to greet them.

Released prisoner Bilal Yassin, 42, told Reuters he had been in Israeli detention for 20 years.

“Our sacrifices and imprisonment were not in vain,” Yassin said. “We had confidence in the [Palestinian] resistance.”

Nearly 100 more Palestinian prisoners were handed over to Egypt, where they will stay until another country accepts them, according to a Hamas source and Egyptian media.