Israel ready to release 620 prisoners, ceasefire maintained

Tel Aviv: Hamas and Israel have reached an agreement on the release of prisoners and hostages of both sides and the exchange of bodies of the hostages, after which the ceasefire will be maintained.

According to foreign media reports, Israel is ready for the second phase of Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

Hamas says that they have reached an agreement with mediators on the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners whom Israel released last week. Now they will be released soon under this agreement, while Israel will also release more Palestinian women and children.

According to Israeli and American media reports, Hamas will hand over the bodies of four Israeli hostages to Israel through Egypt.

On the other hand, an Israeli official has also confirmed that the return of the bodies of the hostages and the release of the prisoners are expected today or tomorrow, while if more hostages are not released by March 8, the ceasefire will end.

Earlier, Israel had given Hamas three options, which Hamas rejected and announced that it would continue armed resistance.

These options included an extension of the ceasefire and the complete dissolution of Hamas, but it refused to surrender and expressed its willingness to relinquish control of Gaza.

Senior Hamas leader Bassem Naeem said in an interview with Al Jazeera that Hamas is a Palestinian national resistance movement that aims to end the occupation, establish a Palestinian state, and achieve the right to self-determination.

He said that Hamas will continue political, diplomatic, and armed resistance, but is ready to hand over day-to-day government affairs such as education, health, police, and border control to the Palestinian leadership.