Israel Releases Palestinian Prisoners

Released Palestinian prisoners reunite with families in the West Bank
Hamas has handed over what it says are the bodies of four Israeli hostages from Gaza, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel is testing DNA samples to confirm they are the remains of Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, Tsachi Idan, 50, and Itzik Elgarat, 69, all of whom were taken by Hamas in the 7 October 2023 attacks.

Early on Thursday, Israel began releasing more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, with dozens returned to the occupied West Bank and Gaza, where they were met by jubilant crowds.

It will be the final exchange of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which is due to end on Saturday.

Initial testing of the four bodies’ DNA was expected to happen close to the Israel-Gaza border.

Israeli media later reported they were transported to a forensics laboratory in Tel Aviv.

It comes after the body of a Palestinian woman from Gaza was handed over by Hamas to Israel instead of the body of Israeli Shiri Bibas last Thursday, prompting fury in Israel. Hamas said it was a mistake and later handed over Bibas’s body.

Hamas transferred the latest bodies privately, with no public ceremony, unlike in previous exchanges.

Israel has accused Hamas of orchestrating “humiliating” handover ceremonies, and delayed last weekend’s prisoner release because of what it said was the cruel treatment of hostages at the handovers.

Before Wednesday’s releases, a Hamas official told the AFP news agency that the return of the four bodies would take place “without public presence to prevent the occupation from finding any pretext for delay or obstruction”.

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