A senior Hamas official has told AFP that the terror group is prepared to release all remaining hostages in a single swap during the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
In return, it is seeking to guarantee a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, according to reports in Israeli media.
It was not clarified whether Hamas would also return the remains of dead hostages, currently scheduled to be released in a third and final phase, during the single transfer.
After the completion of phase one (set to end on March 2), 59 hostages will remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip, though it is not known how many are still alive.
“We have informed the mediators that Hamas is ready to release all hostages in one batch during the second phase of the agreement, rather than in stages, as in the current first phase,” said Taher al-Nunu, a spokesperson for the group.
It comes as Hamas confirmed that it would release the six remaining living hostages slated for return in phase one on Saturday, including Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, both of whom have been held captive for more than a decade.
The others include Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Omer Wenkert, and Eliya Cohen, who were all kidnapped on October 7.
The terror group also announced on Tuesday that it would return the bodies of four dead hostages on Thursday – a group which it claims will include the Bibas children.
The Bibas family said it was in “turmoil” following the announcement.
It has been reported that body of the children’s mother, Shiri, will also be returned. Yarden Bibas, the father of the family, was released Saturday 1 February.
