Hamas has handed over what it claims are the bodies of four Israeli hostages from Gaza in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli authorities are conducting DNA tests to verify whether the remains belong to Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, Tsachi Idan, 50, and Itzik Elgarat, 69, all of whom were abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks.
In the early hours of Thursday, Israel began the process of releasing over 600 Palestinian prisoners, with dozens returning to Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where large crowds gathered in celebration.
This marks the final exchange under the initial phase of the ceasefire agreement, which is set to conclude on Saturday.
While Israel has yet to confirm the DNA results, preliminary testing took place near the Israel-Gaza border before the bodies were transported to a forensics lab in Tel Aviv.
The exchange follows an incident last Thursday when Hamas mistakenly handed over the body of a Palestinian woman instead of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas, an error that sparked outrage in Israel. Hamas later corrected the mistake, returning Bibas’s body.
Unlike previous transfers, Hamas handed over the four bodies in a private exchange, meeting Israel’s demand to avoid public ceremonies.
Israel had previously criticized Hamas for conducting “humiliating” handover events and had postponed last weekend’s prisoner release in protest of what it described as the mistreatment of hostages during transfers.
Ahead of Wednesday’s handovers, a Hamas official told AFP that the return would be conducted “without public presence to prevent the occupation from finding any pretext for delay or obstruction.”
Photos from the Reuters news agency showed buses carrying Palestinian prisoners departing from Ofer Prison in the West Bank late Wednesday.
The released detainees arrived at a checkpoint near the Ramallah Cultural Palace, where a jubilant crowd awaited them. Others were seen disembarking outside a hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza.
Among the released Palestinian prisoners were over 400 Gazans detained by Israeli forces during the ongoing war, as well as 50 individuals serving life sentences.
Prisoners were released from both Ofer Prison in the West Bank and Ketziot Prison in southern Israel.
The Hamas-run Prisoners’ Media Office reported that a Gaza hospital was preparing to receive the freed detainees.
Tsachi Idan, 50, was taken from his home in Nahal Oz. His eldest child, Maayan, had been shot dead during the attack just after turning 18. In August, his wife, Gali, revealed on U.S. television that she last heard of her husband through released hostages in November 2023.
In a statement released through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Tsachi’s family expressed their sorrow, “With great sadness, we have learned that our beloved Tsachi is no longer alive and that his body will be returned to Israel during the night.”
Itzik Elgarat, 69, was kidnapped from Nir Oz and reportedly suffered a gunshot wound to the hand during the attack. His phone was later traced to Gaza.
Ohad Yahalomi, 50, was also taken from Nir Oz along with his 12-year-old son, Eitan, who was freed during a previous ceasefire in November.
Shlomo Mansour, 86, originally from Iraq, was declared killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, with his body taken to Gaza, according to an IDF statement in February 2025.
This prisoner swap marks the final exchange in the current phase of the ceasefire deal.
Whether the truce will be extended or progress to the next stage, where all remaining living hostages would be released in exchange for additional Palestinian prisoners, remains uncertain.
While negotiations for phase two were meant to begin during this phase, there has been no confirmation that discussions have started.
The handover followed days of deadlock between Israel and Hamas, with mediators intervening on Tuesday to resolve the impasse.
Israel was initially set to release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners last Saturday in exchange for the six living and four deceased hostages returned by Hamas last week.
However, Israel delayed the release, citing Hamas’s treatment of hostages during transfers.
Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis gathered on Wednesday to pay their respects as the funeral procession for three hostages killed in Gaza captivity, Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, moved through southern Israel.
Israeli television broadcast the solemn event live, culminating in a private burial followed by public eulogies. Crowds assembled in Tel Aviv’s Hostages’ Square to watch on large screens.
Kfir, at just nine months old, was the youngest among the 251 people abducted by Hamas during the October 7 attacks. His older brother, Ariel, was only four.
Shiri Bibas and her children were laid to rest in a single casket beside her parents, Yossi and Margit Silberman, who had lived in the same kibbutz and were killed on October 7.
That attack resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli deaths and 251 hostages taken, sparking the deadliest conflict in Gaza’s history.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 48,000 people have been killed in the war since then.
