Source: The Patriot Light | AWK Network | VIEW ORIGINAL POST ==>
The exchange follows negotiations with Egyptian mediators in Cairo.
In an overnight exchange that marked the final swap in phase one of an ongoing cease-fire deal, Hamas released the bodies of four deceased Israeli hostages on Feb. 26 before Israel later released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
After it began on Jan. 19, the fragile cease-fire deal has held despite numerous setbacks. With the first phase set to end this week, the potential success of the next phase, which seeks to end the Israel–Hamas war, is still unclear. Hamas claims it hasn’t received any proposals yet but said on Feb. 25 that it agreed to the prisoner-hostage exchange after its delegation visited Cairo.
Following days of uncertainty, Egyptian mediators succeeded in getting Hamas to hand over the final four bodies in the ceasefire deal’s first phase in exchange for 620 Palestinians that Israeli forces had either jailed in Gaza or Israel.
According to the Red Cross, all of the Israeli hostages were abducted from their kibbutz homes near Gaza during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas forces. Hamas previously identified the deceased victims as Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and…
