Israel finalizes swap with Hamas: 602 terrorist prisoners for 4 dead hostages

There were reports of Hamas agreeing not to hold cruel propaganda ceremonies during the release of the four slain hostages.

By World Israel News staff

Hamas has announced that it has reached an agreement with Israel for the “simultaneous” exchange of four Israeli hostages’ bodies and 602 Palestinian security prisoners.

This deal resolves a deadlock that had threatened to derail the ceasefire agreement before its first phase could be completed.

“An agreement was reached to resolve the issue of the delayed release of Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be freed in the last batch,” Hamas said. “They will be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners agreed upon for transfer during the first phase, in addition to an equivalent number of Palestinian women and children.”

An Israeli official confirmed the agreement. Another source familiar with the matter indicated that Egypt would oversee the exchange.

Israel’s decision to delay the prisoner release came after Hamas transferred the remains of an unidentified woman on Friday, claiming it was Shiri Bibas. This led to further scrutiny of Hamas’s handling of the deal.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office cited repeated violations of the ceasefire-hostage agreement as the reason for the postponement, stating that the release would be delayed until more Israeli hostages were secured.

Israel had originally been scheduled to release the Palestinian prisoners on Saturday but refused to do so, citing Hamas’s violations of the agreement during the return of the Bibas family’s remains and the propaganda events it has conducted throughout the hostage release process in phase one.

Earlier today, there were reports of Hamas agreeing not to hold cruel propaganda ceremonies during the release of the four slain hostages.

However, similar commitments were made before the handover of the Bibas family members and the body of Oded Lifshitz but were not honored.

As a result, Israel had refused to release the Palestinian prisoners before the Israeli hostages were returned.

Hamas claimed the agreement was finalized during meetings in Cairo between its delegation, led by Khalil al-Hayya, and Egyptian officials.