The transfer of the bodies of the four hostages is to take place on Wednesday evening in exchange for Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. An unspecified number of women and teenagers detained after the militants' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, are expected to be released. This is reported by the Associated Press, UNN writes.
Details
The Israeli Prison Service has announced that it is preparing to release Palestinian prisoners. The release will take place at 23:00.
The plans to hand over the bodies of the hostages on Wednesday, February 26, were confirmed by the Israeli government and the military wing of Hamas.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the transfer of the bodies would take place without ceremony, unlike previous ones, which were accompanied by theatrical events in front of a crowd. Israel, along with representatives of the Red Cross and the UN, called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.
The transfer will complete the fulfillment of obligations by both sides under the first stage of the ceasefire.
Since February 22, Israel has been delaying the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners in protest of the mistreatment of hostages. The group called this delay a serious violation of the ceasefire and said that negotiations on the second phase are impossible until the Palestinians are released.
Recall
Israel has decided to postpone the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners scheduled for February 22. The reason for this was the outrage over a propaganda video released by Hamas during the last prisoner exchange: in the footage, Israeli hostages watch others being released and ask for their release. This caused serious concern in Israel, as the video appeared to be a piece of propaganda that degraded the dignity of the prisoners.