GAZA CITY: Hamas signalled on Wednesday that it was willing to free all remaining prisoners in a single swap during the next phase of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Israel and Hamas are currently in the process of implementing phase one of the fragile Gaza truce, which has held since taking effect on January 19 despite accusations of violations on both sides.
Israel’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that talks would begin “this week” on the second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to the war.
“We have informed the mediators that Hamas is ready to release all hostages in one batch during the second phase of the agreement, rather than in stages, as in the current first phase,” senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP.
Red Cross calls for private, dignified
handover of bodies
He did not clarify how many prisoners were currently being held by Hamas or other groups. Nunu said this step was meant “to confirm our seriousness and complete readiness to move forward in resolving this issue, as well as to continue steps towards cementing the ceasefire and achieving a sustainable truce”.
Under the ceasefire’s first phase, 19 Israelis have been released by Hamas so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails in a series of Red Cross-mediated swaps.
Wednesday’s offer came after Israel and Hamas announced a deal for the return of all six remaining living prisoners eligible for release under phase one in a single swap this weekend.
After the completion of the first phase, 58 prisoners will remain in Gaza.
‘Held onto hope’
Hamas also agreed on Tuesday to return the bodies of eight dead prisoners in two groups this week and next, including the remains of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel.
The boys’ father Yarden Bibas was captured separately on Oct 7, 2023, and was released alive during an earlier prisoner swap.
While Hamas said Shiri Bibas and her boys were killed in an Israeli air strike early in the war, Israel has never confirmed this, and many supporters remain unconvinced of their deaths, including members of the Bibas family.
“I ask that no one eulogise my family just yet. We have held onto hope for 16 months, and we are not giving up now,” the boys’ aunt, Ofri Bibas, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday night following Hamas’ announcement.
Israeli authorities have confirmed that the remains of four prisoners are due to be returned on Thursday, although they have not officially named them.
The national forensic institute in Tel Aviv has mobilised 10 doctors to expedite the identification process, public broadcaster Kan reported on Wednesday.
‘Dignified handover’
The Red Cross on Wednesday called for privacy and dignity ahead of the expected release of prisoners’ bodies from Gaza under the terms of a ceasefire.
“We must be clear: any degrading treatment during release operations is unacceptable,” the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement.
The ICRC, a neutral intermediary responsible for releasing Israeli and Palestinian prisoners under the terms of the ceasefire, has repeatedly called for improvements.
Some Israeli critics allege it has not done enough to protect the prisoners and have mocked its role as a “ride-share” service in a social media video.
The ICRC has publicly rejected the criticism and said it seeks to ensure prisoners are transferred in the best possible conditions.
Meanwhile, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said on Wednesday that it would release the body of Israeli prisoner Oded Lifshitz on Thursday. The group said Lifshitz was one of the prisoners killed during Israeli strikes on Gaza.
Israel’s military campaign since October 7, 2023 has killed at least 48,297 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
