2 h. ago Israel releases some Palestinian prisoners after Hamas returns bodies of four hostages

Gaza ceasefire appears to hold, though it remains unclear whether exchange would include all 602 Palestinian prisoners who were due for release on SaturdaySee all our Middle East coverageHamas has handed over the bodies of four hostages, and Israel has released some Palestinian prisoners, as the five-week-old ceasefire appeared to get back on track after a breach that had brought fears of a return to war in Gaza.The bodies of the hostages were transferred to the Red Cross in southern Gaza and driven to the border point at Kerem Shalom at about midnight. Meanwhile, a convoy of buses carrying Palestinian prisoners arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that 43 Palestinians being held in Ofer had been transferred to the Red Cross. Continue reading...

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4 h. ago Hamas returns bodies of four hostages as ceasefire appears to get back on track

Israel releases more Palestinian prisoners in exchange and says identities of deceased Israelis not yet confirmedHamas has handed over the bodies of four hostages, and Israel has released some Palestinian prisoners, as the five-week-old ceasefire appeared to get back on track after a breach that had brought fears of a return to war in Gaza.The bodies of the hostages were transferred to the Red Cross in southern Gaza and driven to the border point at Kerem Shalom at about midnight. Meanwhile, a convoy of buses carrying Palestinian prisoners arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Continue reading...

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5 h. ago Hamas hands over bodies of four Israeli hostages as first phase of ceasefire nears end

Israel frees hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange

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5 h. ago Hamas hand over final four bodies of Israeli hostages in exchange which will see 600 Palestinian prisoners walk free in a matter of hours

The remains of Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, Tsachi Idan, 50, and Itzik Elgarat, 69, are due to be handed back to Israel this evening in exchange for 600 prisoners.

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6 h. ago Hamas releasing bodies of final four Israeli hostages in exchange for 600 Palestinian prisoners

The remains of Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, Tsachi Idan, 50, and Itzik Elgarat, 69, will be handed back to Israel later this evening, the terrorist group has said.

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15 h. ago Thousands of Israelis line streets for funeral of Bibas family killed in Gaza

National outpouring of grief comes amid reports that deal reached to resume ceasefire with HamasThousands of Israelis have lined the route of a funeral procession for two small children and their mother who were held hostage and died in captivity in Gaza.The national outpouring of grief for Ariel, Kfir and Shiri Bibas came amid reports that a deal had been reached to resume the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, with the handover of more bodies of hostages in return for the release of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Continue reading...

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19 h. ago Middle East latest: Hamas will return bodies of 4 dead Israeli hostages in exchange for prisoners

Hamas will return the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages on Thursday in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the group said, just days before the first phase of the ceasefire between the warring parties was to expire

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20 h. ago Hamas to turn over bodies of four Israeli hostages in exchange for release of hundreds of prisoners

Hamas says that it will return the bodies of four dead hostages on Thursday in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, two days before the first phase of the ceasefire between the warring parties is set to expire

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4 d. ago Hamas frees two hostages as first phase of ceasefire nears end

Militant group due to release a further four hostages on Saturday as part of exchange for 600 Palestinian prisoners

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5 d. ago Middle East crisis live: Shiri Bibas remains mixed with others after airstrike, Hamas claims after Israel says wrong body returned

Israel has demanded the return of Shiri Bibas after it said testing showed that one of the four bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any other hostageFull report: Israeli military accuses Hamas of ‘serious violation’, saying Shiri Bibas not among returned hostagesOne of the four bodies returned by Hamas to Israel on Thursday is not that of Shiri Bibas, Israel’s military has said, calling it a “violation of utmost severity” of a ceasefire deal that was already precarious.The Israeli military confirmed that two of the bodies belonged to Bibas’ children, Ariel and Kfir, in the early hours of Friday. However, it added “During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body” Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Middle East crisis live: Shiri Bibas remains have been mixed with other remains after airstrike, Hamas says

Israel has demanded the return of Shiri Bibas after it said testing showed that one of the four bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any other hostageFull report: Israeli military accuses Hamas of ‘serious violation’, saying Shiri Bibas not among returned hostagesOne of the four bodies returned by Hamas to Israel on Thursday is not that of Shiri Bibas, Israel’s military has said, calling it a “violation of utmost severity” of a ceasefire deal that was already precarious.The Israeli military confirmed that two of the bodies belonged to Bibas’ children, Ariel and Kfir, in the early hours of Friday. However, it added “During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body” Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Jewish community in London mourns as Hamas returns bodies of 4 Israeli hostages

Jewish community in London mourns as Hamas returns bodies of 4 Israeli hostages  The Associated Press

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6 d. ago Israeli mum slaughtered with children not among hostages' bodies returned by Hamas in 'serious violation'

Shiri Bibas' body was supposed to be in the caskets released by Hamas but the Israeli Defence Forces have reportedly told the Bibas family that only Ariel, 4, and nine-month-old baby Kfir's remains were positively identified

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6 d. ago Middle East crisis live: Israeli military says body of Shiri Bibas is not among returned hostages

Israel has demanded the return of Shiri Bibas after it said testing showed that one of the four bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any other hostageThe Israeli military has said the two Bibas boys were “murdered by terrorists” in Gaza.The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said earlier that Ariel and Kfir Bibas had been identified after their bodies were released by Hamas on Thursday under the current ceasefire agreement.According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and forensic findings from the identification process, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Hamas hands over bodies of four Israeli hostages including 10

Hamas has returned the bodies of four hostages, including the two youngest captives seized in its 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.

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6 d. ago ‘One of the hardest days’ in Israel as Hamas hands over hostages’ bodies

Remains of two young children, their mother and an elderly man arrived in Tel Aviv after a ceremony in GazaThe remains of two young children, their mother, and an elderly man taken hostage by Hamas have been returned to Israel in what onlookers described as one of the “hardest days” for Israelis since the Palestinian militant group attack that ignited the war in Gaza.A convoy carrying the bodies of Shiri Bibas, 32, her sons Ariel and Kfir, four years and nine months old respectively, and 85-year-old Oded Lifshitz, all from the Nir Oz kibbutz, arrived at a forensics centre in Tel Aviv on Thursday for DNA checks and autopsy procedures. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Israel receives bodies of four hostages held by Hamas including mother and her two children

The remains of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, are believed to have been returned to Israeli on Thursday.

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6 d. ago Middle East latest: Israel receives remains said to include a mother and her 2 young children

Hamas has released the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two children who have long been feared dead and had come to embody the nation’s agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack

Politics

6 d. ago Israel grieves as Hamas turns over the remains said to be of a mother and her 2 young children

The bodies presumed to be of the youngest Israelis held hostage by Hamas have been returned to Israel, dashing the hopes of a nation hoping for a happier ending

Politics

6 d. ago Sickening moment armed Hamas soldiers stand over coffins of dead children in latest Gaza exchange

Shocking images released from the south Gaza city Khan Younis show Hamas soldiers returning the bodies of four Israeli hostages - including two young children - in black coffins

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