Hamas could release 6 living hostages & several bodies from Gaza captivity by end of the week

In a surprising development, Israeli media reported on Monday evening that up to six living hostages and six bodies of murdered hostages could be released from Gaza by the end of the week.

Kan News reported that the cabinet ministers were updated on Monday evening that Israel and Hamas are discussing an arrangement to free all six hostages who are assumed to be still alive by this coming Saturday.

“It’s not finalized yet, but there has been positive progress,” senior officials told Kan News.

Out of the original 33 hostages slated for release during the first phase of the ceasefire, 14 remain in captivity, of whom eight are believed to be dead.

In exchange for the return of the six living hostages, Israel would release all the prisoners it promised to release during the first phase and allow more supplies, possibly including mobile homes, into the Gaza Strip.

In addition, Israel is expecting Hamas to give up between four and six bodies of killed hostages, several reports suggested.

According to Channel 12 News, this was part of a secret appendix to the original deal and not an additional concession by Hamas.

“As it currently appears – and I say this cautiously – we are on the verge of closing a difficult personal and national circle,” said Yaron Avraham, Channel 12’s political correspondent.

“We have often asked why the full agreement with Hamas has not been made public; tonight, it can be reported that the transfer of the four deceased hostages was set for the 33rd day in the secret appendix of the agreement, which has not been made public,” Avraham explained.

The procedure for the release of the bodies will be different than those of the hostage releases over the past weeks. The names of the deceased hostages will be sent to Israel on Thursday morning, possibly earlier.

The bodies will be handed over to IDF ambulances who will take them directly to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for immediate identification. Then, their families will be informed, before the names will be released to the public.

The four other hostage bodies that are to be released during the first phase of the deal will be returned to Israel next week, the report added.

In exchange, Israel will release all women and men under the age of 19 who were detained by the IDF during the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army detained large numbers of Gazans during the fighting, for example, those who were inside Hamas compounds when the IDF captured them.