Hamas on Friday released the names of six living Israeli hostages who the militants plan to release from Gaza on Saturday. Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, more than 600 Palestinians will also be freed from Israeli prisons in exchange, according to the Hamas-linked Palestinian prisoners media office.
The announcements are a sign the fragile ceasefire deal remains on track despite the tensions following Israeli allegations overnight that hostage Shiri Bibas’ body was not returned to Israel as promised by Hamas.
The militant group insists it is sticking to the truce deal and “has no interest in withholding any bodies in its possession.” The militant group says the four dead hostages it handed over Thursday had been killed by an Israeli airstrike in November 2023, and the bodies could have been misidentified because of bombardments in the area.
Late Friday, Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi said militants handed over Bibas’ body to the Red Cross, in remarks to Al Araby, a Qatar-based television network. The Red Cross confirmed it had received human remains inside Gaza and transferred them to Israeli authorities.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said in a brief statement “the remains were expected to be taken to Israel’s national forensics lab for testing. It was not immediately known how long it would take to confirm identification.”
Here’s the latest:
Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi said militants handed over the body of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas to the Red Cross, in remarks to Al Araby, a Qatar-based television network. The Red Cross confirmed it had received human remains inside Gaza and transferred them to Israeli authorities.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said in a brief statement “the remains were expected to be taken to Israel’s national forensics lab for testing. It was not immediately known how long it would take to confirm identification.”
Earlier, a small militant group in Gaza that was believed to have hostage Bibas’ body has said it turned over her remains to the Red Cross.
A small militant group in Gaza that’s believed to have hostage Shiri Bibas’ body said late Friday they had turned over her remains to the Red Cross.
And in a short statement, the Red Cross confirmed that they had received human remains inside Gaza and transferred them to Israeli authorities. The statement did not specify whose remains were believed to be in transit.
Dr. Salem Attalah, deputy secretary general for the Palestinian Mujahedeen Brigades, said it had handed over Bibas’s remains to the Red Cross. The militant group, which collaborates with Palestinian Islamic Jihad inside Gaza, is thought to have been holding the mother and her two boys, Kfir and Ariel Bibas.
Hassan Nasrallah was killed on Sept. 27 when Israel’s air force dropped more than 80 bombs on Hezbollah’s main operations room in southern Beirut. It was the biggest and most consequential of Israel’s targeted killings in years.
Thousands of supporters have flown into Beirut for the funeral this weekend. Crowds are expected to gather Sunday at Beirut’s main sports stadium for a funeral ceremony before Nasrallah’s interment. Flights from Iraq, where Hezbollah has a huge following among Iraqi Shiites, have been full for days on end.
Nasrallah had temporarily been buried in a secret location. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire in late November ended the 13-month war between Israel and Hezbollah, which Nasrallah launched in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and Hamas.
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