Hamas said on Tuesday that a deal had been reached to secure the release of over 600 Palestinians from Israeli jails that Israel had delayed.
Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to release the Palestinians on Saturday after Hamas freed six Israeli hostages, but Israel refused to over Hamas’s handover ceremonies, which it said were “humiliating.”
Hamas said a solution had been reached that would involve the group releasing the bodies of four Israeli hostages and Israel freeing the Palestinians simultaneously. “They will be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners agreed to be handed over during the first phase, in addition to the corresponding Palestinian women and children,” Hamas said.
The agreement was reached in Cairo, where Hamas had sent a delegation led by one of its officials, Khalil Al-Hayya, for negotiations. Hamas also said that a new set of Palestinian prisoners would be released, as well as the more than 600 that were supposed to be freed on Saturday.
The Israeli news site Ynet reported that the Israeli bodies would be handed over by Hamas to Egyptian authorities in private, with no public ceremony.
The exchange will complete all of the releases that were set to happen under the first phase of the hostage and ceasefire deal, which is due to expire on Saturday. So far, no agreement has been reached on the second phase as Israel has delayed the negotiations.
Israeli officials have said they’re looking for an extension of the first phase, an idea backed by the US. The implication of extending the first phase would be that Israel would likely be looking to secure the release of more hostages without having to withdraw fully from Gaza since a withdrawal is a condition of the second phase.
According to Al Arabiya, if a deal is not reached on the second phase by Friday, Israeli officials expect to either continue with the first phase ceasefire or restart the genocidal war. Bloomberg reported that Israel is trying to extend the first phase but is also amassing troops to be prepared to resume the slaughter.
Throughout the ceasefire, Israel has continuously violated the agreement by blocking certain types of aid from entering Gaza and continuing to kill Palestinians. Since the truce went into effect on January 19, Israel has killed more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza.
