Hamas returns body of 4 hostages; Israel publishes more Palestinian prisoners

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip –

The Hamas, a group of terrorists designed by the USA, delivered the corpses of four hostages to the Red Cross early Thursday to end the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, days before the first phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli security officer confirmed that Hamas handed over the corpses to the Red Cross. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity until a formal announcement.

At about the same time, a convoy of the Red Cross, who wore dozens of Palestinian prisoners, left Israel's offer prison. In Beitunia, the lot of cheering families, friends and supporters of the prisoners were gathered in Beitunia and crowded to the bus that was on the way.

Israel had shifted the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what she described as a cruel treatment of hostages during her handover. The terrorist group had referred to the delay as the “serious injury” of the ceasefire and said that the talks in a second phase were only possible when the Palestinians were freed.

The office of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the release of the corpses without a ceremony would be carried out, in contrast to previous Hamas publications with stage events before crowds. Together with the Red Cross and the UN officials, Israel has referred to the ceremonies that humble for the hostages.

Israel publishes hundreds

Among those who left Israel in the early Thursday were hundreds of prisoners from Gaza who were held without charges for months after the suspicion of militance after Hamas on October 7, 2023. This included 445 men, 21 teenagers and a woman who were all arrested after the terrorist attack, according to the lists shared by Palestinian officials who did not specify their age.

In this round, only around 50 Palestinians were released into the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Dozens of people who are sentenced to life for fatal attacks against Israelis are banished from the Palestinian areas that were brought to Egypt at least temporarily until other countries accept them.

The handover takes place as part of the first phase of the ceasefire, in which the Hamas 33 hostages, including eight corpses, returned to almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The family of a hostage in Gaza said she had been informed that he was dead and his body was among those who should be returned to Israel. The family didn't say who informed them. Notifications typically come from the military of Israel.

Tsachi Idan was taken by Kibbutz Laach oz. His eldest daughter Maayaner was killed when Hamas shot through the door of the safe room.

French President Emmanuel Macron has published on X about the Israeli French Geisel Ohad Yahalomi, whose body should also be released: “In these hanging hours of pain and fear, the nation is at your side.”

The six -week first phase of the ceasefire expires this weekend. Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's envoy in the Middle East, said that he wants the pages to be negotiated into the second phase in which all the remaining hostages of Hamas are released and an end to the war would be negotiated.

The talks about the second phase should begin in the first week of February.

The ceasefire, which was mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, finished 15 months of war that broke out on South Israel after the Hamas attack in 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed. About 250 people were taken hostage.

According to Palestinian health officers who say that more than half of the dead women and children were, the Israeli military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians.

The fights also displaced an estimated 90% of the population of Gaza and decimated the infrastructure and the health system of the territory.

Israel buries mother, sons who were killed in captivity

On Wednesday, tens of thousands of Israeli's highways were recorded on Wednesday as the corpses of a mother and her two young sons in Gaza for the funeral.

The bodies of Shiri Bibas and her sons, 9-month-old kfir and 4-year-old Ariel, were handed over at the beginning of this month.

According to Israel, forensic evidence shows that the children were killed by their kidnappers in November 2023, while Hamas says that the family was killed in an Israeli air raid together with their guards.

The husband and father Yarden Bibas was kidnapped separately and released alive in a different handover. His wife and children were buried in a private ceremony near Kibbutz Nir Oz near Gaza, where they lived when they were kidnapped. They were buried in a common grave next to Shiri's parents who were killed in the attack.

Infant for hypothermia in Gaza

With people in tent camps and damaged buildings in the Gaza in cold weather, health officials said that another child died of hypothermia on Wednesday, which has brought tribute to seven in the past two weeks.

Dr. Munir al-Boursh, General Director of the Gaza Ministry of Health, said that the less than 2 months old baby died of the “heavy cold wave” that the Palestinian enclave had reached.

The temperatures were below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), and the last few days were particularly cold.