Israel has agreed to a new procedure for releasing hostages, which includes an Egyptian presence on the ground, Kan 11 News reported on Wednesday evening.
According to an Israeli official, the bodies of four hostages will first be handed over to Egyptian forces in Gaza. After the transfer takes place and the bodies have been identified, the next Palestinian prisoners will be released, KAN reported.
“Only after definitive identification of the fallen will all Palestinian terrorists set to be freed in this phase be released—600 whose release was previously delayed, along with several dozen women and young Gazans arrested since October 7, 2023,” KAN quoted.
This report comes as the bodies of four hostages are set to be returned to Israel at 11 p.m. local time. Confirmed hostages whose bodies will be returned are Shlomo Mantzur, Tsachi Idan, and Itzhak Elgart, with an additional unnamed hostage.
Discussions to extend ceasefire
This release comes as Israel is holding discussions with the United States to extend the ceasefire, which expires on March 1, at which point Israel and Hamas would return to war.
“Hamas, for now, wants the deal to continue,” Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post following a four-hour meeting on Saturday night. “It’s in their interests. They want more convoys and heavy equipment to enter Gaza, and they don’t want to be the side – at this point – that causes the deal to collapse.”
However, on Tuesday, Israeli officials admitted to the Post that Hostage deal negotiations are stuck, though “the issue can be resolved,” one official said.
White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff canceled his planned visit to Israel on Wednesday, though he said he might travel on Sunday to either Doha or Cairo, where Israel is sending a team to resume hostage and ceasefire negotiations again should the talks go positively, the Post previously reported.
“We are working, we’re making a lot of progress,” Witkoff said at an event in Washington on Tuesday night.
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