Hamas is set to transfer the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners, marking the conclusion of the first phase of the Gaza cease-fire deal.
The United States said talks were on track for a second phase of the cease-fire deal that has largely held but whose complexity and long-drawn-out implementation have highlighted its fragility.
In Israel on Wednesday, thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral of Shiri Bibas and her sons, who were killed in captivity in Gaza and had become symbols of the country's hostage ordeal.
The cease-fire has largely halted Israel's genocidal war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 incursion and has seen 25 hostages released alive so far in exchange for hundreds of prisoners.
"Mediators have informed Hamas that the (hostage-prisoner) exchange will take place on Thursday ... Hamas and other resistance factions will hand over four bodies of Israeli captives, and in return, Israel will release more than 600 Palestinian detainees," a Hamas official told AFP.
Another senior Hamas official said the "exchange will happen simultaneously."
Israel has reached an agreement with mediators for the return of the bodies of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump's top envoy on the Middle East said Israeli representatives were en route to talks on the next phase of the cease-fire deal.
"We're making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak," Steve Witkoff told an event for the American Jewish Committee.
"It's either going to be in Doha or in Cairo, where negotiations will begin again with the Egyptians and the Qataris," he said.
This first phase is supposed to end on Saturday, but negotiations planned for the rest of the process – which were to begin in early February – have not yet started.
Hamas has said it is ready to release all the remaining hostages "in one go" during the second phase.
On Sunday, the group accused Israel of endangering the Gaza truce by delaying the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel said it had concerns over how the hostages have been freed, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing the handovers as "humiliating ceremonies."
Israel has yet to comment on whether it will release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners Thursday.
Since the cease-fire took effect on Jan. 19, Hamas has released 25 living hostages in public ceremonies across Gaza, where masked, armed fighters have escorted the captives onto stages covered in slogans.
Israel has released more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has urged all parties to carry out prisoner and hostage swaps "in a dignified and private manner."
In Israel, the prisoners are largely viewed as "terrorists" for the violent attacks they have carried out against civilians and security forces.
For Palestinians, however, the releases are viewed as long-delayed justice for prisoners regarded as symbols of resistance against Israeli occupation.
The two sides have accused each other of violating the cease-fire, but it has so far largely held.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after its 2023 incursion, which caused around 1,200 deaths, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 people, according to the Health Ministry.
In Israel, thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral procession of Shiri Bibas and her sons Kfir and Ariel.
"Shiri, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you all," freed Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas said in his eulogy at the funeral of his wife and two sons.
The Israeli national anthem was played as the funeral convoy passed through the crowd of mourners in the central city of Rishon LeZion, where the remains of the three hostages had been prepared for burial.
"The Bibas family, I think, is like the symbol of everything that happened to us since October 7," said retired teacher Ayala Schlesinger Avidov, 72, visibly emotional as she spoke to AFP.
"The two babies and the mother that did nothing to the world and were murdered in cold blood."
