Hamas hands over four bodies | Global News Avenue

Hamas handed over what it said was the bodies of four Israeli hostages from Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel is testing DNA samples to confirm that they are the remains of 86-year-old Shlomo Mansour, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, TSACHI IDAN, 50, and 69-year-old Itzik Elgarat, all of whom were taken away by Hamas in the October 7, 2023 attack.

Earlier on Thursday, Israel began releasing more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, dozens returning to the occupied West Bank and Gaza, where the joyful crowd met.

This will be the final exchange of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which will end on Saturday.

Israel has not confirmed the results of DNA tests conducted by the four bodies returned as part of the exchange.

The initial tests are expected to be conducted near the Israeli border with Gaza, and later Israeli media reported that they were transported to a forensic laboratory in Tel Aviv.

This was the transfer of the body of a Palestinian woman from Gaza from Gaza to Israel instead of the body of Shiri Bibas, Israel, last Thursday, which caused anger. Hamas said it was a false identification and later handed over the body to Israel, which was proven to be Bibas’s.

As Israel asked, Hamas handed over the body to the body without a public ceremony, unlike previous exchanges.

Israel accused Hamas of “humiliating” the handover ceremony – and postponed the prisoner release last weekend because it talked about the cruel treatment of the handover.

A Hamas official told AFP that the return of the four bodies would “no public places to prevent the occupation from finding any excuses for delays or obstacles”.

Photos released by Reuters News show a bus carrying a Palestinian prisoner, outside of Ofer prison in the West Bank late Wednesday.

A bus carrying Palestinian prisoners later arrived at a checkpoint at the Ramallah Cultural Palace where large crowds gathered to celebrate their release.

Later, dozens of Palestinian prisoners were seen taking buses outside a hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza.

Palestinian prisoners expected to be released include more than 400 Gaza people detained by Israeli forces during the war and 50 prisoners serving sentences in Israeli prisons.

Israel earlier said along with Ofer Prison in the West Bank that prisoners will also be released from Ketziot Prison in southern Israel.

Hamas – A hospital in Gaza is preparing to accept the release of Palestinians, the prisoner media office that runs.

Tsachi Idan, 50, was taken away from his home in Nahar’s Wizard of Oz by Hamas gunmen. His eldest son, Maayan, just turned 18 – was shot dead in the attack. Shatach’s wife Gali told us TV in August that she heard her husband’s last report was a hostage report released in November 2023.

In a statement from the Hostages and Missing Family Forum, Shata’s family said they had learned that “our beloved dune is no longer alive and his body will return to Israel at night”.

Itzik Elgarat, 69, was kidnapped from Nir Oz and was reportedly shot in the attack. After the attack, his phone was traced back to Gaza.

Ohad Yahalomi, 50, was kidnapped with his 12-year-old son Eitan, who was released during the November ceasefire.

The IDF said in February 2025 that it had informed the Iraq-born Shlomo Mansour family that he was killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and his body was taken to Gaza.

The exchange is the last exchange before the current phase of the ceasefire trading ends on Saturday.

It is unclear whether the armistice will expand or develop into the second phase, which will release all the remaining hostages in Gaza in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners.

The negotiations for the second phase will begin in the first phase – but they are believed to have not yet begun.

Wednesday’s hostage release comes a day after the deadlock between Israel and Hamas, which was resolved by mediators on Tuesday.

Israel was supposed to release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday in exchange for six living and four dead hostages handed over by Hamas last week.

But Israel delays releasein protest of what it says is Hamas’ cruel treatment of Israel’s hostages.

Also on Wednesday, thousands of Israelis lined up on the roads in southern Israel. Three hostages were imprisoned and killed during a funeral parade In Gaza – Shiri Bibas, and her two sons Ariel and Kfir.

Israeli TV channel broadcasts the scene live, after a private funeral, with the public eulogy of relatives gathering in the square of Mrs. Tel Aviv to watch the big screen.

The KFIR from Kibbutz Nir Oz is a nine-month KFIR and is the smallest of 251 hostages led by Hamas on October 7, 2023. His brother Ariel was only four years old.

Shiri Bibas and her children were buried in a coffin next to the last resting of her parents, Yossi and Margit Silberman, who lived in the same Kibbutz and were killed there on October 7.

A total of about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostages. According to Hamas-The Ministry of Operations and Health said it ignited the deadliest war in Gaza’s history, with more than 48,000 people killed.