Palestinian prisoners and detainees who were happy to be united with family Hamas calls for phase-2 talks

Hamas said Thursday it was ready to negotiate the next phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after a swap in which it handed over the remains of four hostages in exchange for the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The latest handovers would complete both sides’ obligations under the six-week ceasefire’s first phase, during which Hamas returned 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

It was the final such exchange the two sides agreed to as part of a truce that's set to end this weekend. Negotiations over a second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more prisoners and a lasting ceasefire, have not yet begun. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum,

an  Israeli group representing families of hostages held by Hamas, said the remains of all four hostages returned early Thursday were identified as Ohad Yahalomi, Itzhak Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur and Tsachi Idan. Mantzur, 85, was killed in the October 7, 2023, attack and his body was taken into Gaza. The other three were abducted alive and the circumstances surrounding their deaths were not known.

Hamas said in a statement that the "only way" for Israel to secure the release of the remaining hostages was through negotiations and adhering to the agreement. It warned that any attempt to pull back from the truce "will only lead to more suffering" for the captives and their families. Hamas confirmed that more than  600 prisoners had been released overnight. Most detainees returned to Gaza, where they had been rounded up after the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war and held without charge on security suspicions.

A joyful return for released prisoners

Relief to be free and happy to be reunited with their loved ones, some of the released prisoners fell to their knees in gratitude after disembarking from buses in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In the West Bank town of Beitunia, dozens of prisoners were welcomed by crowds of relatives and well-wishers. The released prisoners, some of whom had been serving life sentences over deadly attacks against Israelis, wore shirts issued by the Israeli prison service bearing a message in Arabic about pursuing one's enemies.

Some of the prisoners threw the shirts on the ground or set them on fire. Israel delayed the release of the prisoners on Saturday over Hamas' practice of parading hostages before crowds and cameras during their release. Israel, along with the Red Cross and UN officials, have called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.

Hamas released the four bodies to the Red Cross in Gaza overnight without a public ceremony. The prisoners released Thursday included 445 men, 21 teenagers and one woman, according to lists shared by Palestinian officials that did not specify their ages. Only around 50 Palestinians were released into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem in this round, while dozens sentenced to life over deadly attacks against Israelis were exiled.