Trump Administration

The militant group turned over four coffins it said contained the bodies of Israeli captives, and Israel began releasing Palestinian prisoners.

By Aaron BoxermanAdam RasgonNatan Odenheimer and Ephrat Livni

Aaron Boxerman, Adam Rasgon and Natan Odenheimer reported from Jerusalem.

Hamas turned over what it said were the remains of four Israeli hostages early on Thursday, according to the Israeli military, and Israel began releasing Palestinian prisoners, in the latest such exchange during the initial stage of a fragile cease-fire.

Hamas’s military wing on Wednesday afternoon named the four Israelis as Ohad Yahalomi, Itzhak Elgarat, Shlomo Mansour and Tsachi Idan. They ranged in age from 85 to 49 when they were abducted, and their remains were to be swapped for a group of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Unlike previous handovers, this time, Hamas carried out the transfer without staged displays, which Israel had condemned as “humiliating ceremonies.”

Around the same time on Thursday, a white bus and two cars bearing the emblem of the International Committee of the Red Cross were shown live on Palestinian television departing from Ofer Prison in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the city of Ramallah in the same territory. Dozens of prisoners stepped off the bus. Hundreds more were expected to be released once Israel identified the bodies turned over.

The office of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed that the coffins were handed over to the Israeli military, with Egypt mediating. “A preliminary identification process has now begun on Israeli soil,” his office said in a statement. “The families of the hostages are being continuously updated, and they will receive an official notification once the full identification process is complete.”

Because Hamas had misidentified a female hostage in a previous handover, the Israeli health authorities had said that forensic specialists would attempt to immediately identify the remains. Once they confirmed the identities, the Israeli military was expected to release additional prisoners.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  your Times account, or  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Want all of The Times? .

Source: www.nytimes.com