Hostage-Detained Exchange Completed, Hamas Ready To Continue Second Stage Ceasefire Negotiations

JAKARTA - Palestinian militant group Hamas said it was ready to start the second phase of the ceasefire negotiations, as the prisoner swap with hostages was completed in the first phase.

Four Israeli hostages were repatriated late Wednesday and have been identified by Israel, followed by the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners.

It was the last exchange of the first phase of a six-week ceasefire that came into force on January 19 in the war in Gaza.

Negotiations have not yet started regarding the second phase, which is meant to end the war that broke out on October 7, 2023.

The Hamas group said on Thursday the only way to free the remaining hostages in Gaza was through a commitment to a ceasefire.

"We are renewing our full commitment to the ceasefire agreement, and affirming our readiness to enter negotiations for the second phase of the agreement," the group said in a statement.

Last night, the bodies of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Shlomo Mantzur were repatriated by Hamas. With the completion of identification, Israel has received all 33 hostages who will be handed over in the first phase. 25 hostages were sent home alive, eight others died, quoted from The Times of Israel.

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said the return of the remaining 59 hostages was a top priority. However, there would be no agreement on the second phase of the ceasefire if Hamas remained in Gaza.

"Our demands are clear," Cohen, a member of the security cabinet, told public broadcaster Kan.

Cohen said Israel was in a stronger position to negotiate now than on the eve of the ceasefire, having the full support of United States President Donald Trump's administration.

The repatriation of the hostages' bodies last night was a fruit from Egyptian mediation efforts, in exchange for the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners.

The Palestinian prisoners who were released last night included 445 men as well as 24 women and minors arrested in Gaza, as well as 151 prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli prisons.

The first phase of the ceasefire covered a total exchange of 33 Israeli hostages with about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from several positions in Gaza as well as the entry of aid.