Israel and Hamas on Tuesday reached an agreement in which Hamas will release the bodies of dead Israeli hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, who are in Israel currently. The deal implies that the fragile ceasefire may remain intact for at least a few more days. Israel has currently delayed the release of 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday, blaming Hamas for "cruel treatment of hostages" during their release by Hamas.
Hamas has called the delay in the release of hostages a “serious violation” of their ceasefire, adding that talks on a second phase are not possible until they are freed. The deadlock between Israel and Hamas is likely to end in the collapse of the ceasefire agreement when the first phase of the deal expires this weekend.
However, Hamas on Tuesday said that it had reached an agreement with Israel as its delegation, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, a top political official in the group, paid a visit to Cairo. The breakthrough appeared to clear the way for the return of the bodies of four more dead hostages and hundreds of additional 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, the statement said.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed an agreement to bring home the bodies in the coming days. He gave no further details.
The agreement could clear the way for the expected visit of the White House's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the region. 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.
(With inputs from AP)
