Prisoner swap: Hamas releases bodies of four Israelis, Israel frees 641 Palestinians
Hamas has handed over the bodies of four Israeli soldiers to the International Red Cross as part of the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza. HAMAS has handed over the bodies of four Israeli soldiers to the International Red Cross as part of the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.
Hamas has handed over the bodies of four Israeli soldiers to the International Red Cross as part of the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, citing Israeli security sources, reported that the bodies of the Israelis were handed over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip. The handover took place without a formal ceremony.
Hamas said the bodies handed over were those of Tsakhi Idan, Ohada Yaxholomi, Yitzhak Elgarta and Shlomo Mansur. Mansur, 85, is said to be the oldest of those abducted on October 7, 2023. Idan and Yaxholomi were 49 years old, and Elgarta was 69. The identities of the victims must be confirmed by forensic examination.
Israel released 641 Palestinian prisoners at the same time as the bodies of the four Israelis were handed over. Palestinian prisoners were also released after the bodies arrived in Israel.
The prisoners were held at Ofer Military Prison in the occupied West Bank and Ketziot Prison in southern Israel. As part of the agreement, they were transferred to the Palestinian Red Cross.
Of these, 457, residents arrested after July 10, 2024, will be sent to the Gaza Strip. It is reported that 97 Palestinian prisoners have been transferred to Egypt, where they will remain until other Arab countries accept them.
Among the released Palestinians is Nael Barghouti, who was released in 2011 as part of a deal to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit but was later re-arrested for violating the terms of his release. Also on the list is Alaa al-Din al-Bazyan, who was implicated in the 2014 kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers.
With the completion of the seventh phase of the prisoner exchange, the first phase agreement was implemented, in which all 33 Israeli prisoners and 1,776 Palestinian prisoners were released.
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