Deal Reached to Swap Hostage Bodies for Palestinian Prisoners

A new agreement has been reached for the exchange of hostage remains for Palestinian detainees, marking a significant development in ongoing negotiations. Read more on the deal.

Israeli and Hamas officials announced an agreement on Tuesday to exchange the remains of deceased hostages for the freedom of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, thereby prolonging the fragile ceasefire by several days.

Starting on Saturday, Israel postponed the release of 600 prisoners, citing what it described as mistreatment of hostages by Hamas.

In reaction, Hamas described the postponement as a “serious breach” of the ceasefire and cautioned that negotiations for the subsequent phase of the agreement could not move forward until their prisoners were released.

Hamas announced late Tuesday that an agreement had been reached to resolve the dispute, facilitating the return of four more bodies of Israeli hostages and securing the release of additional Palestinian prisoners.

This breakthrough signifies the end of the initial phase of the ceasefire, during which Hamas returned 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

This action also paves the way for the next phase of discussions, which focus on ensuring the release of all remaining hostages and negotiating a resolution to end the war.