Feb. 18 (UPI) — The terror group Hamas is set to release the bodies of four Israeli hostages and a handful of living captives, it was announced Tuesday.
The bodies of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, along with another Israeli hostage, are expected to be returned Thursday, according to Khalil Al-Hayya, the head of Hamas’ negotiating team.
In addition, Hamas on Saturday will then release six living hostages instead of the three that initially had been agreed upon.
On Tuesday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the hostage negotiations in Cairo, Egypt, had reached an agreement for “four slain hostages” to be released Thursday and “six living hostages” two days later.
It added, “four additional slain hostages are expected to be handed over to Israel next week.”
Meanwhile, as in past weeks, Palestinian prisoners will be released by Israel in exchange.
A source in Egypt told CNN that talks involving Israeli, U.S., Qatari and Egyptian officials had been successful and that Hamas will, indeed, free its phase-one hostages later this week.
In November 2023, Hamas claimed the three Bibas hostages allegedly were killed during IDF airstrikes. However, Israel has not yet confirmed the deaths of the Bibas kids or officially commented on it.
“Until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over,” the Bibas family stated. “We ask the media and the public to respect our privacy and refrain from contacting us about this matter,” they added.
On Monday, the families of Israeli hostages held a rally in Tel Aviv to mark the 500th day of captivity.
Lt. Col. Aliza Raziel, the head of the Israel Police’s forensics division, told Channel 12 on Tuesday that local authorities were “ready to receive the bodies and activate all existing scientific identification methods.”
Al-Hayya, the Hamas spokesman, said among the six living Israelis to be granted freedom will be decade-long prisoners Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, The Times of Israel reported.
The additional four to be freed, kidnapped during the Oct 7., 2023, sneak attack, are Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Omer Wenkert and Eliya Cohen.
The news arrived as three others were released Saturday by the terror syndicate Hamas in exchange for 369 prisoners, and on the day Israel announced it will commence talks on the Gaza cease-fire agreement’s second phase.
Negotiations, according to Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, could begin “this week” following talks with “our American friends,” he said.
“If the agreement in Cairo is carried out, it will be an important achievement for Israel,” an Israeli official told Times of Israel.
