Hamas hands over bodies of four Israeli captives

Hamas released the remains of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, including the mother of the Bibas family and her two children. In exchange, hundreds of Palestinians are expected to be released later this week. This action is part of an ongoing effort to de-escalate tensions in the ongoing conflict between the two sides.

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya announced the release of the four bodies on Tuesday, adding that another six living hostages, including Hisham al-Sayed and Avira Mengistu, who have been held in Gaza since 2014, are expected to be released this Saturday. This suggests that some progress has been made on the issue of hostages between the two sides.

The other four Israeli hostages captured on October 7, 2023, include Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Omer Wenkert, and Elia Cohen. According to Hamas, Shiri Bibas and her two children, Kfir and Ariel, were reportedly killed in an airstrike in November 2023. Shiri's husband, Yarden Bibas, was released in the first phase of last month's ceasefire agreement.

The remains of Odeed Lifshitz were also released. Lifshitz was 83 years old when he was kidnapped and co-founded the Nir Oz settlement with his wife, Yocheved. A journalist and peace activist, Lifshitz called for a two-state solution. His wife was released in late October 2023.

To date, a total of 1,135 Palestinian prisoners have been released from Israeli prisons. Israel is expected to release hundreds of Palestinians on Saturday, who are expected to be women and minors detained by Israeli forces in Gaza during the war. As part of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, more humanitarian aid and equipment must also be facilitated into Gaza.

Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israel has agreed to allow 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents into Gaza, but so far only 20,000 tents have been allowed in, and no mobile homes. According to Egyptian media reports, the first batch of mobile homes has crossed from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing to the Kerem Shalom crossing in preparation for entering Gaza. Cairo News Channel reported that "a bulldozer carrying 15 mobile homes via five trucks" would enter Gaza on Thursday, but provided no further details. Although Israel agreed to allow temporary housing as part of the ceasefire agreement, it has blocked temporary housing from entering the Gaza Strip.

Aid began to flow into Gaza over the weekend after a tense standoff between Israel and Hamas threatened to break the deal. After Hamas called on Israel to abide by the terms of the agreement if it wanted the next batch of captives released on Saturday as planned, US President Donald Trump threatened that "all hell would break loose" if all the living hostages were not released. Israel then warned of "a new Gaza war of a completely different intensity" that would "realize Trump's vision for Gaza."

According to Agence France-Presse, Egyptian state media cited sources as saying that Egypt and Qatar have stepped up efforts to successfully "overcome" the "obstacles" hindering the agreement. This indicates that the international community has played a crucial role in pushing the parties to the conflict to abide by the agreement.