8 hostages to be released from Gaza are dead, Hamas says

TEL AVIV, Israel – The Islamist group Hamas said Monday that eight of 33 hostages to be released from the Gaza Strip in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead.

Twenty-five of them are still alive, a member of the Palestinian militant group told the German Press Agency.

An Israeli government spokesman said that a list provided by Hamas with these figures was consistent with Israeli intelligence.

The six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which brought a halt to the fighting after over 15 months of war, envisages the gradual release of hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

In exchange for the 33 hostages, a total of 1,904 Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli prisons.

Thousands begin return to northern GazaThousands of displaced Palestinians have started returning to their homes in the north of the devastated Gaza Strip after a deal between Israel and Hamas was reached to free the next group of hostages.

Footage posted on social media on Monday morning showed crowds of Palestinians walking from the southern side of the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the south and is a key supply route for Israeli forces, to the north of the coastal strip.

Israel’s military has allowed people to return from 7 a.m.

According to U.N. data, about two-thirds of all buildings in Gaza were destroyed or severely damaged during the conflict, and approximately 90% of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents were displaced.

Israeli-German woman to be released

The timing of Gazans’ return to the north was affected by changes to the planned implementation of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

The initial agreement for the exchange of Israeli hostages and imprisoned Palestinians specified that civilians should be released first. However, on Saturday, Hamas released four young female soldiers instead of an Israeli civilian as had reportedly been agreed.

In response, Israel initially blocked the return of Gazans to the north, originally scheduled to begin one week after the start of the temporary truce, which took effect on January 19.

After Hamas agreed to release an Israeli-German woman, who was abducted on October 7, later this week, Israel authorized the return of displaced Gaza residents to their homes.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed the agreement. According to the statement, three hostages are to be released on Thursday and another three are set to be freed on Saturday.

90 hostages remain in the Gaza StripA total of 90 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, most of whom were abducted during the Hamas-led massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

According to Israeli information, 35 of them are dead. Those not released in the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement are to be released in a second phase.

However, the two parties to the conflict have yet to negotiate the details of this – whether an agreement will be reached is unclear.

Hamas prepared to accept another power in Gaza StripHamas could be prepared to accept another power in charge of the Gaza Strip, according to a senior representative of the Islamist group.

Hamas is not seeking to retain control of the territory, Mousa Abu Marzouk told dpa, confirming previous media reports.

Prior to the Gaza war, which broke out in October 2023 following Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israeli communities, Hamas had ruled the Palestinian territory since 2007.

However, Hamas is now trying to obtain guarantees from the states that mediated the current ceasefire – Qatar, Egypt and the United States – that the rights of its officials will be protected, according to German Press Agency sources.

The Islamist group have demonstrated their continuing strength in Gaza during the release of Israeli hostages, with dozens of masked and armed fighters in uniform positioning themselves in a square in the center of Gaza City.

Israel has vehemently rejected the idea that Hamas could continue to rule over the coastal strip. The stated aim of its offensive was to completely eliminate Hamas.

The Israeli government has not yet presented its own plan for the future of the Gaza Strip.