Palestinian group Hamas on Monday handed over the bodies of four hostages to Israel after the release of 20 living hostages under a ceasefire agreement.
Israeli media also confirmed that the military received caskets in the evening holding bodies of four slain hostages from Gaza which were handed over the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Earlier, Hamas had said the bodies of Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi and Daniel Perez would be handed over to Red Cross.
Hamas stated that retrieving the remaining 24 bodies may take time, as the locations of all the burial sites are not known. On Monday, Hamas implemented the agreement and released 20 living hostages, all of whom appeared to be in good health and spirits.
On the other hand, 1,968 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails and transported by buses to Gaza and the West Bank. Families, overwhelmed with joy at seeing their loved ones after years.
Speaking to the media, a Palestinian prisoner thanked Allah and those who secured our release.
He said that the conditions in prison were extremely harsh. “We were taken out of our cells four days ago, and since then, we were beaten and humiliated.”
PROTEST AGAINST NETANYAHU
Meanwhile, protests broke out in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem following the release of Israeli prisoners after 736 days. Protesters questioned the government why it took so long to reach an agreement.
They argued that if the agreement had been reached earlier, more prisoners could have survived and thousands of Palestinian lives could have been saved.
They said that the government delayed the agreement for political interests, which resulted in the deaths of hostages and an escalation of violence in the region.
Demonstrators chanted slogans against Prime Minister Netanyahu.
SHARM EL-SHEIKH DEAL
Reuters adds: The US, along with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, mediated what has been described as a first phase agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas and prisoners and detainees by Israel.
At the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh later on Monday, Trump and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted more than 20 world leaders for a summit intended to cement the truce.
At the opening of the summit, Trump signed a document with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey’s leaders welcoming the agreements on Gaza and pledging to “work collectively to implement and sustain this legacy.”
Egypt’s presidency said that discussions included the governance, security and reconstruction of Gaza.
“Now the rebuilding begins,” Trump said at the summit, delivering an expansive speech where he described in grand terms the Gaza agreement he helped broker, saying it could be “the greatest deal of them all.”
