The Red Cross receives the bodies of four hostages from Hamas as part of a prisoner exchange

The Red Cross received the bodies of four captives from Hamas, which was a significant development in the current ceasefire talks.

Days before the first stage of the truce in the Gaza Strip was to conclude, Hamas released the remains of four captives to the Red Cross early Thursday in return for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas turned over the hostages’ remains to the Red Cross, according to an Israeli security official.

According to Israel, the caskets were delivered across an Israeli crossing with the assistance of Egyptian mediators, and the identification procedure had already started.

A Red Cross convoy transporting several dozen freed Palestinian inmates departed Israel’s Ofer jail at about the same time, bound for the West Bank town of Beitunia, where hundreds of well-wishers crowded to catch a sight of the bus as it pulled into town.

Family members and friends embraced the freed inmates and took pictures of them.

While being carried on the shoulders of supporters, one freed man made a victory sign while the throng sang, “God is Great.” T-shirts from the Israeli Prison Service were worn by the released inmates; some of them removed them and burned them.

In the city of Khan Younis in Gaza, buses carrying hundreds of other Palestinian detainees arrived hours later. As they got off the buses, some men kissed the ground.

In protest of what it described as the brutal treatment of hostages during their transfer by Hamas, Israel has been delaying the release of more than 600 Palestinian captives since Saturday. The terrorist organization has referred to the postponement as a “serious violation” of the truce and stated that negotiations for a second phase cannot begin until the Palestinians are released.

Earlier Wednesday, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that, in contrast to previous Hamas releases that featured stage-managed events in front of crowds, the most recent release of hostages’ bodies will take place without fanfare.

Red Cross and UN officials, as well as Israel, have described the rituals as degrading for the hostages.

Hundreds of detainees detained from Gaza on suspicion of militancy during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught were among those set to depart Israel early Thursday; they had been jailed without being charged for months. The lists released by Palestinian officials did not provide the ages of the individuals, although they contain 445 men, 21 teenagers, and one woman.

This round saw the release of only about 50 Palestinians into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. At least temporarily, dozens of people who were given life sentences for killing Israelis will be removed from the Palestinian territories and relocated to Egypt until they are accepted by other nations.

During the first phase of the ceasefire, when Hamas returned 33 hostages, including eight dead, in exchange for roughly 2,000 Palestinian inmates, the most recent handovers would fulfill both parties’ duties.

A hostage in Gaza was informed that he was killed and that his body was one of those being sent back to Israel, according to his relatives. Who told the family was not disclosed. Usually, Israel’s military is the source of notifications.

They took Tsachi Idan from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. When militants broke through the door of the family’s safe room, his oldest daughter, Maayan, was slain. On Facebook, Hamas terrorists posted a video of themselves keeping the family prisoner in their house while two small children begged for their release.

“In these suspended hours of pain and anguish, the nation stands by their side,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X in reference to Israeli-French hostage Ohad Yahalomi, whose body was also anticipated to be released.

The first six-week phase of the truce ends this Sunday. According to US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, he wants the parties to begin the second round of negotiations, which would see the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and the negotiation of a ceasefire.

In the first week of February, negotiations on the second phase were scheduled to start.

The United States, Egypt, and Qatar mediated the truce, which put an end to a 15-month conflict that had broken out following Hamas’ 2023 onslaught on southern Israel, which claimed over 1,200 lives. There were about 250 hostages.

More than 48,000 Palestinians have been murdered by Israel’s military offensive, according to Palestinian health officials, who do not distinguish between combatant and civilian deaths but say that women and children have made up more than half of the deceased.

In addition, the war destroyed Gaza’s infrastructure and health system, displacing an estimated 90% of the population.

A mother and her two young sons were killed in captivity in Gaza, and their bodies were carried for burial Wednesday, with tens of thousands of Israelis lining the highways.

Early this month, Shiri Bibas and her sons, 4-year-old Ariel and 9-month-old Kfir, had their bodies turned over.

Hamas claims the family was slain in an Israeli bombing along with their guards, while Israel claims forensic evidence indicates the children were killed by their captors in November 2023.

In a separate exchange, Yarden Bibas, the father and spouse, was kidnapped separately and freed alive. His wife and their kids were living in Kibbutz Nir Oz near Gaza when they were kidnapped, and they were buried there in a private ceremony. Alongside Shiri’s parents, who perished in the assault, they were laid to rest in a united burial.

Health officials said that another baby had passed away from hypothermia on Wednesday, increasing the total number of deaths from the cold weather in Gaza to seven in the last two weeks, as residents live in tent camps and damaged buildings.

According to Dr. Munir al-Boursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, the “severe cold wave” that has struck the Palestinian enclave is to blame for the death of the infant, who was less than two months old.

At night, the temperature has dropped below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), and the past several days have been very cold.