Hamas will free six hostages and hand over bodies

In a surprise announcement, a top Hamas leadersays the militant group will release six living Israeli hostages and the bodies of four more.

A top Hamas leader has flagged the militant group will release six living Israeli hostages on the weekend and the bodies of four others in the coming days, including the remains of the Bibas family, who for many Israelis have embodied the captives’ plight in Gaza.

Israel has said it is gravely concerned about Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, but has not confirmed their deaths.

Hamas said they were killed in an Israeli air strike early in the war.

Kfir, who was 9 months old at the time, was the youngest hostage taken in Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, in pre-recorded remarks on Tuesday, said the “Bibas family” would be included in the handover of four bodies on Thursday — the first to be released under the current ceasefire.

The six to be released on Saturday are the last living hostages to be freed under the ceasefire’s first phase.

Three had been expected to be freed.

It was not immediately clear why Hamas had changed the plan.

But an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to allow long-requested mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza as part of efforts to accelerate the hostages’ release.

Hamas last week threatened to hold up the release of hostages, citing the refusal to allow in mobile homes and heavy equipment among other alleged violations of the truce.

The hostage releases have come in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The ceasefire that began in mid-January has paused the deadliest fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, surged aid into devastated Gaza and allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to their homes as Israeli forces withdrew from much of the territory.

The sides have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase, in which Hamas would release dozens more hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Major challenges are ahead. Israel’s government says it wants to eliminate Hamas’ military and governing capabilities in Gaza.

However, the militant group quickly reasserted its control of the territory during the ceasefire despite losing leaders and many fighters.

US President Donald Trump’s new proposal to relocate the Palestinians out of Gaza so the US can redevelop the territory has been rejected by the Arab world and by the Palestinians, who fear they’ll never be allowed to return.

But Israel has embraced the plan, and it and the Trump administration have emphasised they share the same goals in the war.

Egypt has postponed an emergency Arab summit to counter Trump’s proposal.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the summit would be held in Cairo on March 4 to allow for further “logistical and objective preparations”.

The summit, which had been scheduled for February 27, came after Trump’s proposal sent shock waves across the region.