GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES, FEB 27 (AFP/APP/DNA):Hamas called on Israel Thursday to enter negotiations for the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire after the group handed over the bodies of four hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The swap, undertaken under cover of night, was the last in an initial series agreed under the terms of the fragile truce, which took effect on January 19 and largely halted the war in Gaza.
Under the first phase of the deal, Hamas freed 25 living hostages and returned to Israel the bodies of eight others, some of them dual nationals.
Israel, in return, was expected to free around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, among them women and minors, in staggered releases.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said Israel had freed 596 prisoners in exchange for the bodies on Thursday.
It said 46 prisoners were yet to be released to complete the swap — “all women and minors from Gaza” who were arrested after the war began.
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