6 The living hostages will be released to Israel this week, Hamas says

Khalil Al -Hayya, the chief negotiator in Hamas, said in a speech on Tuesday that the fighters intend to hand over the remains of Israeli hostages to Israel on Thursday in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Mr. Haya said that members of the Pepas family-some of the most famous hostages around the world-will be among the four bodies that were delivered to Israel on Thursday, without saying how much. The remaining three members of the Pepas family in Gaza are Sherry Pepas and her two children.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that the bodies of four Israelis will be returned on Thursday, but officials did not immediately respond to requests to comment on whether the Bibas family would be among them. Until recently, the Israeli army said that there are serious concerns about the life of Mrs. Pepas and her children, although they did not confirm their death.

For many Israelis, the story of the Bibas family has become a symbol of the brutality of Hamas attack led by October 7: Sherry Pipas was wrapped by the gunmen and was transferred to Gaza with its two children with red hair, Ariel, 4, 4, 4, and 4 the child KFIR, who was Less than 9 months at that time. Yarden Pepas, Sherry’s husband and father of children, was also hijacked heavily after the striker hit his head with a hammer, The relatives said. Mr. Pipas was released from families earlier in February.

Mr. Haya and the Israeli Prime Minister’s office also said that the number of living hostages to be released on Saturday will be an increase of six out of three. Mr. Haya said that Avera Mengesto and Hisham Al -Sayed, the Israeli citizens who have been detained in Gaza for nearly a decade, were among the six. It was not immediately clear why Hamas decided to increase the number of living hostages to be released on Saturday. The original agreement called for Hamas to launch three hostages on Saturday against Palestinian prisoners.

The issuance of live and dead hostages this week will indicate that the implementation of the initial ceasefire agreement for six weeks between Israel and Hamas was advancing despite fears about its fragility. It seems that negotiations on the second stage of the deal, which calls for a permanent end to fight, and the full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of more hostages and prisoners, is less solid.

The two sides had to start talks about the details about the next stage two weeks ago, but Qatar, a major medium country, said that the talks had not started yet.

Hamas accused Israel of delaying the beginning of the second stage of discussions, while Israel has not publicly announced when it would send officials to participate in it.

As part of the first phase of the deal, Hamas is supposed to launch 33 Israeli hostages, including eight Israeli authorities, which are believed to be dead. As of Tuesday, Hamas launched 19 Israelis.