The Qassam Brigades announced that the remains of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur were handed over.
An Israeli security official has confirmed that Hamas has transferred four bodies to the Red Cross.
Israel is now expected to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the coming hours as part of the final phase of hostage and prisoner exchanges under the first stage of the ceasefire deal agreed upon last month.
The official truce is set to end on Saturday, but it remains unclear if discussions to extend the ceasefire have begun.
The identities of the bodies handed over by Hamas early Thursday local time have not yet been confirmed. Israel has announced that a team of forensic experts from the National Center for Forensic Medicine will be dispatched to the Kerem Shalom border crossing to assist with identification.
An Israeli official previously said that no Palestinian prisoners would be released until the hostages’ bodies were positively identified. This follows a previous incident in which Hamas mistakenly handed over the body of an unidentified Gazan woman instead of hostage Shiri Bibas. Hamas later acknowledged the error and returned Bibas' body.
If confirmed to be the bodies belonging to hostages, the latest release would mean that Hamas and its allies are now holding 59 captives, according to Israeli figures. The Israeli government believes more than half of those remaining are deceased. One of the hostages, Hadar Goldin, has been held dead since before October 7, 2023.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, announced that the remains of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur would be handed over.
The Israeli military previously stated that Shlomo Mantzur, who at 85 was the oldest hostage taken on October 7, 2023, was killed during the Hamas-led attack, and his body had been held in Gaza. However, the military had not confirmed the deaths of the other three hostages.
The latest transfer took place privately after the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced that an agreement had been reached for the four bodies to be returned “through an agreed-upon procedure and without Hamas ceremonies.”
Doubts over the handover emerged on Saturday when Israel refused to release 620 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, citing what it described as “humiliating ceremonies” conducted by Hamas during previous releases.
Earlier on Saturday, Hamas had released six Israeli hostages from Gaza in two public ceremonies and one private transfer. This marked the final return of living hostages under the first phase of the ceasefire deal that began last month.
The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has announced the death of senior Hamas commander Muhammad Sinwar. His body was reportedly identified on June 8th among five others found in a tunnel complex near the European Hospital in Khan Younis.
Israel’s military says it has identified the body of top Hamas commander Mohammed Sinwar beneath a hospital in southern Gaza.
The United Nations Security Council is likely to vote on Wednesday, June 4, on a draft resolution calling for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, according to diplomats.
Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, criticized Hamas’s response to Washington’s latest ceasefire proposal, calling it “completely unacceptable” and a step backward.
Hamas said on Saturday it had officially responded to a ceasefire plan put forward by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who represents President Donald Trump in Middle East diplomacy. The group said its reply includes a key demand: a complete end to the war.
President Donald J. Trump will deliver a televised address to the nation at 10:00 P.M. tonight from the White House, following a United States military operation in Iran that he described as “very successful.”
The Netherlands has officially returned 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, more than a century after they were looted during Britain’s 1897 invasion of the former Kingdom of Benin, now in southern Nigeria.
President Donald Trump announced that US forces struck three Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, marking direct American involvement in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday held a series of high-level meetings in Istanbul with senior officials from the UN, Qatar, Pakistan, and Iran, amid growing regional tension following Israel's attacks on Iran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched another wave of drone attacks on Israel overnight, in what it calls the 19th round of strikes targeting strategic sites across the country.
Iranian missiles struck multiple locations across Israel and neighbouring regions early Friday morning, including a Microsoft office complex, according to emergency responders and local media reports.
A high-speed tram derailment in central Gothenburg, Sweden, has left at least eight people injured late on Thursday (19 June), after the vehicle slammed into a snack bar on Avenyn Avenue.
The 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit was held June 15–17 in Kananaskis, Alberta, under Canada’s presidency. Prime Minister Mark Carney framed the meeting around priorities of protecting communities, energy and climate security, the digital transition, and future partnerships.
The USS Nimitz is heading to the Middle East amid tensions between Israel and Iran. The U.S. aircraft carrier has a decades-long history in the region, from the 1979 hostage crisis to modern deployments, often serving as a key asset during periods of rising friction with Iran.
China has unveiled a mosquito-sized bionic drone designed for covert military operations and battlefield reconnaissance, marking a major advance in micro-robotics and stealth technology as part of the country’s growing focus on next-generation warfare capabilities.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), called on regional leaders Saturday to prioritize economic unity, policy coordination, and stronger investment to unlock West Africa’s full potential.
Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov and China Eximbank Chairman Chen Huaiyu signed a $500 million loan agreement for the telecom sector on June 21.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov discussed bilateral partnership and regional security on the sidelines of the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Istanbul.
Kyrgyzstan's First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Daniyar Amangeldiev met with Gazprombank First Vice President Oleg Melnikov during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum to discuss strengthening financial cooperation.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) held talks on advancing cooperation in decarbonization, renewable energy and modernization of the country’s power infrastructure.
President Donald J. Trump will deliver a televised address to the nation at 10:00 P.M. tonight from the White House, following a United States military operation in Iran that he described as “very successful.”
The Netherlands has officially returned 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, more than a century after they were looted during Britain’s 1897 invasion of the former Kingdom of Benin, now in southern Nigeria.
President Donald Trump announced that US forces struck three Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, marking direct American involvement in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday held a series of high-level meetings in Istanbul with senior officials from the UN, Qatar, Pakistan, and Iran, amid growing regional tension following Israel's attacks on Iran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched another wave of drone attacks on Israel overnight, in what it calls the 19th round of strikes targeting strategic sites across the country.
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