Israel releases Palestinian prisoners after Hamas handed over the bodies of four hostages

Hamas handed over what he said was the remains of four Israeli hostages from Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has tested DNA samples to confirm that they are Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yaharomi, 50, Tsach Idan, 50 and 69.

Earlier on Thursday, Israel began releasing more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, with dozens returning to the occupied West Bank and Gaza, where they met a jubilant crowd.

This will be the final exchange of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. This is scheduled to end on Saturday.

Israel has yet to confirm the results of DNA tests performed on the four bodies returned as part of the exchange.

Early tests are expected to take place near the Israeli Gaza border, and Israeli media reported that they were later taken to the Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv.

That comes after the body of a Palestinian woman in Gaza was handed over to Hamas by Hamas in place of the body of Sili Vivas of Israel last Thursday, causing rage in Israel, and then the body of a Palestinian woman from Gaza was handed over to Hamas. Hamas said it was a misconception and later said Israel confirmed that the body was Vivas’s.

Unlike previous exchanges, Hamas personally handed out the body without official rituals, as Israel had requested.

Israel denounced Hamas in a “humiliating” handover ceremony, delaying the release of prisoners last weekend.

Before Wednesday’s release, Hamas officials told AFP News Agency that the return of four bodies would occur “without public presence to prevent occupations from finding excuses for delays and obstacles.”

Photos released by the Reuters agency showed a bus carrying what appears to be Palestinian prisoners from Opas prison on the West Bank on Wednesday.

A bus carrying Palestinian prisoners later arrived at the checkpoint of Ramallah Palace of Culture.

They then watched dozens of Palestinian prisoners get off the bus outside the hospital at Khan Yunis in Gaza.

Palestinian prisoners expected to be released include more than 400 Gazaans who were detained by Israeli forces during the war, and 50 prisoners have been sentenced to life in Israeli prisons.

Israel said prisoners will also be released from the Kezio prison in southern Israel along with prisons on the West Bank.

The Hamaslan prisoners’ media office said the Gaza hospital is preparing to receive the released Palestinians.

Tsach Idan, 50, was taken away from Nahal Oz’s home by Hamas Gunman. His eldest son, Mayan, has just turned 18 and was shot dead in an attack. In August, Tsach’s wife, Galli, told television that the last time she heard was a report from a hostage released in November 2023.

In a statement via the Hostage and Missing Family Forum, Tsach’s family said it was “with great sadness” that they had learned that “our beloved Tsach is no longer alive, and that his body will be returned to Israel in the middle of the night.”

69-year-old Itzik Elgarat was lured by Nir Oz and reportedly shot his hand while attacking. His phone was traced to Gaza after the attack.

Ohad Yaharomi, 50, was accused of Nir Oz by Nir Oz along with his 12-year-old son Eitan, who was released during the November ceasefire.

In February 2025, the IDF said it informed the family of Iraqi-born Shlomo Mansour that he was killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and his body was killed by Hamas, who was taken to Gaza.

The exchange is the last before the current phase of the ceasefire transaction ends on Saturday.

It remains unclear whether the truce will be extended or if it will proceed to Phase 2. This will free all remaining hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Negotiations for Phase 2 were scheduled to begin in Phase 1, but are not believed to have begun yet.

Wednesday’s hostage release follows days of deadlock between Israel and Hamas. This was resolved by the mediator on Tuesday.

Israel was to release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday in exchange for the lives of six people and four dead hostages that Hamas handed over last week.

However, Israel delayed its release in protest that Hamas had said it was a cruel treatment of the extraditioned Israelite hostages.

Also on Wednesday, thousands of Israelis lined up roads in southern Israel for funeral processions for the three hostages killed in captivity of Gaza prisoners Silvivas and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir.

Israeli TV channels have won live feeds of the scene – after private burials, public eulogies by relatives gathered to see the big screen in the hostage square in Tel Aviv.

Kibbutz Nir Oz’s nine-month Kfir was the youngest of the 251 hostages taken in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. His brother, Ariel, was only four.

Siri Vivas and her children were buried in a single cas next to the final resting spot of their parents, Yossi and Margit Silverman.

In total, around 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostages. According to Hamaslan Health Ministry, it sparked the deadliest war in Gaza history, where more than 48,000 people were killed.