Hamas to release six living hostages, Bibas family bodies

The terror group agreed to release the hostages on Saturday, according to a Tuesday statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They are the last living hostages scheduled for release under the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Hamas also planned to return the bodies of four deceased hostages to Israel on Thursday and another four more deceased next week, the prime minister said in another statement. The first phase of ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas is scheduled to end at the beginning of March.

Hamas Chief Khalil Al-Hayya released a video Tuesday morning clarifying that members of the Bibas family would be among the returned bodies. Terrorists kidnapped the family of four during the Oct. 7 attack. Yarden Bibas was released in the Feb. 1 exchange but the conditions of his wife, Shiri, and children, 2-year-old Kfir and 5-year-old Ariel, remain unknown. Al-Hayya did not specify how many members of the Bibas family would be included among the dead. The Bibas family issued a statement Tuesday saying they were aware of Hamas’ claims. They added that they have not yet received definitive proof of the statuses of Shiri, Kfir, or Ariel, and until that happens, their journey is not over.

When will phase two of negotiations begin? Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Tuesday that the second round of negotiations would begin and reiterated Israel’s commitment to achieving its war objectives. Those objectives include the freedom of all the hostages, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, and the end of terror group operations in Gaza, he told the media.

Al-Hayya said Hamas was also primed to begin the next round of talks and reiterated the terror group’s insistence that Israel make a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. A spokesman for Lebanese President and Hamas ally Joseph Aoun also called for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and described the presence of Israeli soldiers as an occupation. Israeli presence on a single inch of Lebanese land constituted an occupation and would give leaders the right to use any means necessary to dispel the Israeli army, spokesman Najat Sharafeddin said Tuesday.

The IDF entered southern Lebanon to continue eliminating Hamas leaders which is allowed under the ceasefire terms. Hours after Sharafeddin’s comments, the Israel Defense Forces clarified it has officially withdrawn from most of southern Lebanon, according to an IDF statement. The Lebanese threats and Israeli withdrawal came one day after the IDF eliminated Hamas’ head of operations in Lebanon in a Monday airstrike.

Dig deeper: Read my report for more about the Monday airstrike.