Israel has released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, shortly after confirming that the Palestinian militant group Hamas returned coffins believed to contain the remains of four hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that Israel had received the coffins of “four fallen hostages”.
Later, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog indicated that the bodies of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur had been positively identified.
The sister of 86-year-old Mr. Mantzur verified that his remains had been returned.
Our hearts are heavy as we receive the painful news of the identification of Ohad Yahalomi, Tsachi Idan, Itzik Elgarat, and Shlomo Mantzur, whose bodies were returned overnight from Hamas captivity.
In this sorrowful moment, there is some comfort in knowing… pic.twitter.com/fE6khe7kS0
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) February 27, 2025
In Gaza and the occupied West Bank, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived on buses accompanied by Red Cross vehicles.
More than 600 were slated to be freed in the latest exchange, with Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News reporting that 97 of them arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza.
They were originally scheduled to be released over the weekend, but Israel paused the process following outrage over elaborate ceremonies that Hamas conducted to hand over hostages taken during the attack on October 7, 2023.
The exchange signifies the conclusion of the initial phase of the ceasefire.
The dispute jeopardized the first phase of a fragile ceasefire agreement for Gaza that began on January 19 and is set to end on Saturday.
Hamas asserted that Israel now must engage in talks regarding a subsequent phase.
“We have effectively curtailed the enemy’s false pretexts, and it has no alternative but to initiate discussions for the second phase,” the group stated on Telegram.
Several Palestinians released to Ramallah were celebrated upon arrival, with some conducting interviews from the shoulders of friends or family.
A group of women burst into tears as they gathered around one man who was released, and a child made peace signs above his head.
Earlier, Hamas indicated that the return of the four Israeli bodies would occur privately “to avoid giving the occupation any excuse for delay or disruption”.
According to Hamas, a total of 580 prisoners and detainees are set to be released in Gaza.
The ceasefire has mostly halted the conflict ignited by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, resulting in 25 hostages being released alive in exchange for over 1,100 prisoners.
Nonetheless, there have been occasional incidents of violence.
The Israeli military reported conducting airstrikes on multiple launch sites within Gaza after a projectile was fired from there yesterday, though the munition landed within Palestinian territory.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump’s senior envoy to the Middle East stated that Israeli representatives were on their way to negotiations concerning the next phase of the ceasefire.
“We’re making significant progress. Israel is dispatching a team as we speak,” Steve Witkoff mentioned during an event for the American Jewish Committee.
“Negotiations are either going to take place in Doha or Cairo, where discussions will resume with the Egyptians and Qataris.”
Minute of Silence
Thousands gathered yesterday in Israel for the funeral of Shiri Bibas and her sons, who were killed in captivity in Gaza and had come to symbolize the nation’s hostage crisis.
Photos of Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas, and her sons Ariel and Kfir at the funeral service for Mr. Lifshitz.
The Israeli parliament observed a moment of silence to mourn their deaths, along with those of other victims from Hamas’s October 7 attack.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), we held the funeral for Oded Lifshitz; today (Wednesday), the funeral for Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas is taking place. We remember all the victims of October 7. We remember, and we shall not forget,” stated speaker Amir Ohana.
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Israel has pledged to eliminate Hamas following the attack, which stands as the deadliest in the nation’s history, with the reclamation of all hostages taken that day as a primary goal of the war.
The attack resulted in the deaths of over 1,215 individuals, primarily civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official statistics.
Israel’s response in Gaza has reportedly caused over 48,348 fatalities, based on figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-administered region, statistics that the United Nations deems credible.
During the Bibas family funeral, father Yarden Bibas, who was separately abducted on October 7 and survived a previous exchange, expressed his remorse to his late wife and sons.
“Shiri, I apologize for my inability to protect you all,” he said during his eulogy, his voice trembling.
