JERUSALEM, Feb 27 (NNN-MA’AN) – Hamas handed over the bodies of four more Israeli hostages held in Gaza to the Red Cross early today, as part of an exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, amid an ongoing ceasefire agreement, Israel’s state-owned Kan broadcaster reported, citing an Israeli official.
The four are Shlomo Mantzur, 86, the eldest hostage, Tsahi Idan, 50, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, and Itzik Elgarat, 69.
The Red Cross is now heading to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, to deliver the bodies to Israeli forces, according to Kan.
Israeli officials said today, about half of the Palestinian prisoners would be released ten minutes after the Red Cross handed over the bodies to the Israeli military, at the Kerem Shalom crossing, and the others would be freed after the identification process of the bodies was complete.
According to a statement from Hamas’s Media Office, 620 prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons, including 151, who were sentenced to life imprisonment. It is the largest group of Palestinians released in the first phase of the agreement. Among them, 445 are Gazans, who were arrested after the war began, and 11 are Gazans who were detained before the war. In addition, 24 women and minors from Gaza will be released. A total of 43 prisoners will be released to the Israeli-controlled West Bank and East Jerusalem, while 97 will be deported abroad.– NNN-MA’AN
