Final swap of Gaza truce deal sees return of 4 dead hostages – DW – 02/27/2025
Published 27 February 2025
The militant Palestinian group Hamas on Thursday returned to Israel the bodies of four hostages taken during its deadly October 7, 2023 attack in the south of the country.
The return of the bodies, made in exchange for the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, is the final swap of the first phase of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that took effect on January 19.
The deal foresaw that Hamas should hand over 33 hostages, including eight dead bodies, by March 1, while Israel was to free altogether 1,900 Palestinians. Five Thai nationals who had also been taken hostage in the 2023 attack while working in Israel were also handed back to Israel under a separate deal.
Altogether 251 hostages were taken by Hamas-led militants during the attack, which triggered the current conflict in Gaza. Many have been freed under previous agreements, rescued or had their bodies recovered by Israel. More than 50 remain in Gaza, with about half of them believed to be dead.
A Hamas source said the Palestinian prisoners released overnight included 445 men and 24 women and minors detained in Gaza, as well as 151 prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.
The release had been postponed by Israel over what it called violations by Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has confirmed the identities of the people whose bodies were returned and said that three of the four were murdered in captivity and one on the day of the attack.
Hamas has previously denied killing its hostages and said some had died during Israeli bombardments.
The dead hostages were named as French-Israeli national Ohad Yahalomi, Israeli national Tsachi Idan, Danish-Israeli Itzik Elgarat and Iraq-born Israeli Shlomo Mansour.
Two of the four, who were abducted from the kibbutzes where they lived, had been listed as alive until Wednesday.