Israel and Hamas Conduct Final Hostage-Prisoner Exchange as Ceasefire Nears End:

Israel and Hamas have started trading four bodies of Israeli captives in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian captives. The swap was put in place for a ceasefire that began six weeks ago and is predicted to wrap up this weekend.

The swap is the final ones that are part of an agreement after the US, Egypt, and Qatar arranged a pause in violence in January for 42 days.

On Wednesday, Al Jazeera and Associated Press reported that Red Cross had received the bodies from Hamas and were on their way to Israeli leaders. The militant group has been in charge of Gaza for almost twenty years.

Israel was supposed to release 620 Palestinian prisoners at the start of this week, but postponed the decision to after Hamas’ “ceremonies” for hostage release that are extremely controversial. Both groups walking the tightrope of the truce has led to extreme levels of tension.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had stated earlier that the release of hostages would be given without the military fanfare that Hamas has been using in past openings. Al Jazeera broadcast footage of the handover, and there were no such fanfare of military ceremonies.

Previously, Hamas relayed through Telegram that they struck a deal with Egyptian representatives concerning the possibility of Israel freeing several hundred Palestinian captives. No further details were provided.

In the midst of the ceasefire, Israeli forces pulled back partially from Gaza and the volume of aid allowed into the region has increased substantially.

The continuation of the ceasefire is still unknown. Further discussions aimed at a second stage which would delineate the closure of the ongoing war are still unfinished, the two factions are quite distant in their intended achievements.

Israel wants to extend the current ceasefire to retrieve the remaining Hamas captives from their October 2023 onslaught, which are publicly believed to number at around two dozen active ones. In addition, the military is also positioning soldiers around Gaza’s border, which signals a readiness to go back to battle if necessary.