Hamas has said it reached a deal to end Israel’s delay in releasing 620 Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be freed last week, after it upheld its side of the ceasefire deal by freeing six Israeli captives from Gaza.
Hamas accused Israel of “sabotaging” the Gaza truce by delaying the release of the 620 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday,February 22, 2025.
Israel justified the delay by citing concerns over the large public gatherings during which the Israelis were freed, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing the process as “humiliating ceremonies.”
The prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas is set to take place tomorrow, Thursday, February 26, 2025, with Egypt overseeing the process to ensure both sides fulfil their commitments.
Israel will release more than 600 Palestinian detainees, including those whose release was postponed last Saturday, and Hamas will release the bodies of four deceased Israeli captives as part of the first phase of the current ceasefire agreement.
Hamas-allied group, al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, disclosed that the body of Israeli captive Ohad Yahalomi is one of four set for a handover in Gaza tomorrow.
According to Israeli media, the 50-year-old was a French Israeli resident of Israel’s Nir Oz settlement, located near the Gaza Strip, and was at home when the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks took place. Yahalomi engaged in a gun battle with Palestinian fighters at his home.
After being shot in the leg, he reportedly urged his wife and their three children to leave with the attackers for their safety.
While his wife and two daughters managed to escape after they fell from their captor’s motorbike, Yahalomi and his son were taken captive.
His 12-year-old son, Eitan, was released from captivity on November 27, 2023.
It is not clear when Yahalomi died, as in January, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, he was included on the list of captives to be released alive.
An End To Ceasefire’s First Phase
The latest agreement would complete both sides’ obligations under the first phase of the ceasefire, during which Hamas is returning 33 captives, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy for the Middle East, hailed progress in the Gaza truce talks and said he may join the negotiations on Sunday “if it goes well.”
Witkoff stated that Israel will take part in talks on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal. “We’re making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak,” he told an event in Washington, DC, for the American Jewish Committee.
He added that negotiations will begin again with the Egyptians and the Qataris and “it’s either going to be in Doha or in Cairo.”
The envoy said tthat he focus of the new talks will be to “put phase two on track and have some additional hostage release – and we think that’s a real possibility.”
Witkoff, who said he may head to the Middle East on Sunday if truce talks go well, also expressed optimism about US efforts to get Saudi Arabia to normalise ties with Israel and join the so-called Abraham Accords.
Also, he said that he saw the potential for normalisation by Lebanon and Syria.
“Lebanon, by the way, could actually mobilise and come into the Abraham Peace Accords, as could potentially Syria. So, so many profound changes are happening.”
Steve Witkoff
Meanwhile, the envoy told the event organised by the American Jewish Committee that the US will soon hold a summit with real estate developers to discuss Gaza’s future.
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