The exchange is part of a broader agreement reached last week by mediators, the United States, Turkiye, Qatar, and Egypt, to end the aggression against the Gaza Strip.

The Islamist militia published early this morning the names in a list and then handed the first seven prisoners to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It is expected that the remaining ones will be released later.

As in previous exchanges, the ICRC was responsible for transporting these individuals to Israel.

Hamas will also hand over the bodies of 28 Israelis, although it has asked for time to find the bodies of several of them, whose whereabouts are unknown due to the destruction caused in Gaza.

In this regard, The Times of Israel revealed that authorities informed some families of the deceased that the bodies of their loved ones will likely not be released in the coming hours.

In exchange, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government will release nearly 2,000 Palestinians, 250 of whom are serving long sentences, and 1,718 people arrested in Gaza during the war, including women and children, as well as the remains of some 360 Gazans.

jdt/iff/ro/rob