Hamas, Israel agree return of six hostages, bodies held in Gaza

Hamas, Israel agree return of six hostages, bodies held in Gaza

Israelis rally in Jerusalem on the Gaza war's 500th day, calling to secure the release of all remaining hostages

Hamas and Israel announced a deal Tuesday for the release of six living hostages from Gaza and the return of four captives' bodies -- including, the militants said, the remains of two young boys seen as national symbols back home.

The family of hostages Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel and Kfir, the last remaining Israeli children held in Gaza, said they were "in turmoil" at the news, noting they had still received no "official confirmation" of their loved ones' deaths.

Thirty-three Israeli hostages were due for release under the first phase of the fragile Gaza truce that took effect last month, with 19 freed so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners. Of the remaining 14, Israel says eight are dead.

Hamas "decided to release on Saturday, February 22, the remaining living (Israeli) prisoners whose release was agreed in the first phase, numbering six", the group's top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised address.

The group also "decided to hand over four bodies on Thursday, among them (those of) the Bibas family", Hayya added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office subsequently confirmed that during indirect negotiations in Cairo, "agreements were reached" for the six living hostages to be handed over on Saturday, in addition to four bodies on Thursday and four more next week.

A Bibas family statement said it had been "in turmoil following (the) Hamas spokesperson's announcement about the planned return of our Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir this Thursday".

The trio were abducted during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war, with Ariel and Kfir coming to symbolise the hostages' plight for many Israelis. Their father Yarden Bibas was also taken hostage separately, and was released alive during a previous hostage-prisoner exchange.

Hamas has previously said that Shiri Bibas and the children were killed in an Israeli air strike in November 2023, but Israel has not confirmed their deaths.

"Until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over," the family statement said.

- 'Reluctantly hopeful' -

The bodies due to be handed over on Thursday are the first to be returned to Israel by Hamas since the war began.

Israel's military issued a statement on Tuesday urging the public not to take notice of what it called "unverified rumours" about the hostages, without elaborating.

Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum published the names of the six living hostages due for release on Saturday, saying it "welcomes with profound joy the return of Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham Al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu".

Shoham's family said it had been informed he was scheduled for release, adding: "While we are reluctantly hopeful, we remain cautious and pray that Tal will return safely."

Five Thais held in Gaza since the October 2023 attack have also been released outside the scope of the truce deal.

The truce has held despite both sides trading accusations of violations, and despite the strain placed on it by US President Donald Trump's widely condemned plan to take control of devastated Gaza and relocate its population.

Saudi Arabia is set to host the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Friday to present their own plan for Gaza's reconstruction while ensuring that Palestinians remain on their land.

Trump floated Egypt and Jordan as possible destinations for displaced Gazans, but both countries rejected the idea. 

After the Saudi meeting, Egypt will host an extraordinary Arab League meeting on Gaza on March 4.

For Palestinians, any forced displacement evokes memories of the "Nakba", or catastrophe -- the mass exile of their ancestors during Israel's creation in 1948.

- 'Demilitarisation' -

Israel, meanwhile, demanded on Tuesday the "complete demilitarisation of Gaza", with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar saying it would "not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist groups" in the Palestinian territory.

Saar also said Israel would begin negotiations "this week" on the truce's second phase, which aims to lay out a more permanent end to the war. Phase one is due to expire on March 1.

Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza conflict, said on Tuesday that Palestinians must decide the territory's future.

"It is a Palestinian question on who represents the Palestinians in an official capacity and also the political groups and parties in the political sphere," said foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,291 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Of 251 people seized in the Hamas attack, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's military said that in southern Gaza on Tuesday, soldiers fired on a man after he ignored warning shots. A hospital source in Khan Yunis said it had received the body of a 15-year-old.

bur-smw/srm/kir

Originally published as Hamas, Israel agree return of six hostages, bodies held in Gaza