Israel expects to receive the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, people familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
Hamas intends to announce the names of the victims on Thursday morning, and their bodies will be taken to the L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir in Tel Aviv, where tests will be conducted to verify their identities, the sources said.
In return, Israel will release all female Palestinian prisoners and anyone under the age of 19 who were arrested during the October 7 massacre and the days that followed. Israel will also allow mobile homes to enter the Gaza Strip.
The news about the caravans is surprising because last week, the defense establishment and the Prime Minister’s Office denied reports by Hamas that caravans would be brought into the enclave for Gazans whose homes were destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also issued a statement denying the video.
“Contrary to reports in Arab media, there are no caravans about to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing,” Netanyahu’s spokesperson Omer Dostri wrote.
Next Thursday, four more bodies of hostages are to be released, the sources said.
Only after the identities of the hostages have been confirmed in Israel will the families be informed, KAN added.
Upcoming hostage exchange
The seventh hostage exchange is still expected to take place on Saturday, in which three more Israelis will be released. As yet, Hamas has not released details on the identities of the hostages set to be freed on the weekend.
This is a deviation from the original terms of the deal, which specified all living hostages would be released before the dead.