Hamas returns bodies of Israelis after Palestinian prisoners freed

The bodies of four Israeli hostages were handed over by Hamas early Thursday, authorities confirmed, followed soon after by the return of another group of freed Palestinian prisoners to the occupied West Bank.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed they had received the coffins of "four fallen hostages", and a process to formally identify them had started in Israel.

In Ramallah, AFP journalists saw a first group of more than 600 prisoners due to be freed by Israel descend from a bus before a jubilant crowd.

They were supposed to have been freed last weekend, but Israel stopped the process following outrage over elaborate ceremonies Hamas had been holding to hand over hostages, dead or alive, seized in its shock October 7, 2023 attack.

The row had threatened the first phase of a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal that went into effect on January 19.

Several of the freed Palestinians were hoisted in the air, some of them conducting interviews from the shoulders of friends or relatives.

A group of women broke into tears as they gathered around one released prisoner, and a child held aloft made peace signs with both hands.

Earlier, Hamas said the return of the four Israeli bodies would take place in private "to prevent the occupation from finding any pretext for delay or obstruction".

Israeli media identified them as Ohad Yahalomi, Tsachi Idan, Itzik Elgarat and Shlomo Mansour.

Negotiations will begin

The ceasefire has largely halted the war sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and seen 25 hostages released alive so far in exchange for more than 1,100 prisoners.

There have been sporadic incidents of violence, however.

The Israeli military said it carried out air strikes on several launch sites inside Gaza after a projectile was fired from there on Wednesday, though the munition fell short inside the Palestinian territory.

In Washington, President Donald Trump's top envoy to the Middle East said Israeli representatives were en route to talks on the next phase of the ceasefire.

"We're making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak," Steve Witkoff told an event for the American Jewish Committee.

"It's either going to be in Doha or in Cairo, where negotiations will begin again with the Egyptians and the Qataris."

The first phase of the deal is supposed to end on Saturday, but negotiations for the next stage -- which were due to begin in early February -- have not yet started.