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Two platforms in different locations in Gaza, slogans, and crowds defying the rain are part of the preparations for the eighth exchange of hostages—including bodies—and prisoners between Hamas and Israel.

According to Palestinian media, Hamas is set to release six Israeli hostages today, Saturday, at two locations: one in Rafah and the other in central Gaza.

The movement has set up two exchange platforms: the first on Salah al-Din Street in the Nuseirat refugee camp, where four hostages will be handed over, while the second in Rafah will be used to deliver two more hostages.

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Hundreds of armed members of Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, have been deployed at both sites, particularly in Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, where security presence appears to be heavier compared to the other location.

On a rainy day with freezing cold weather, in an extremely dangerous place like Rafah, crowds gathered from early morning to witness the handover process.

Hamas slogans were prominently displayed on both platforms, as has become customary during every exchange, with the movement keen to send its messages to Israel and the world.

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For its part, the Israeli army announced that it was preparing to receive the prisoners from the two locations in Gaza.

Hamas and Israel are set to carry out a prisoner exchange despite heightened tensions following Hamas’s handover of the bodies of two children from the Bibas family without their mother.

Kibbutz Nir Oz, from which Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas was kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 attack, confirmed her death on Saturday after Israel received another body from Hamas.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of committing “horrific murders,” while the Israeli army alleged that the group had killed the two children “with their bare hands” during their captivity in Gaza.

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The Last Surviving Hostages

Hamas confirmed that it would release six Israeli hostages as scheduled on Saturday. These are the last surviving captives due to be handed over to Israel by March 1, marking the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

The agreement came into effect on January 19 after 15 months of devastating war that left Gaza in ruins, following Hamas’s unprecedented attack in southern Israel.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club announced that, in return, 602 Palestinian detainees would be released, including 50 sentenced to life imprisonment, with 108 of them expected to be deported outside Palestinian territories.

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The Hostages’ Families Forum stated that the Red Cross would receive Eliyah Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, and Omer Winkret, who were kidnapped during the Hamas attack, along with Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, both of whom have been held hostage for nearly a decade.

Since the ceasefire began, Israel has received 22 hostages, including three who were deceased, in exchange for the release of more than 1,100 Palestinian detainees.

Under the first phase of the truce agreement, which ends on March 1, Hamas is set to release 33 hostages, including eight who have died, in exchange for Israel’s release of 1,900 Palestinian detainees held in its prisons.

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Contempt

Hamas and other Palestinian factions have so far carefully orchestrated the hostage handover process, displaying the living hostages on platforms. However, on Thursday, during the first handover of deceased hostages, the group placed four coffins on a platform, above which hung a caricature of Netanyahu.

Hamas stated that the coffins contained the remains of Ariel and Kfir Bibas—who were four years and eight and a half months old at the time of their abduction—their mother, Shiri Bibas, and an elderly man.

Kfir Bibas was the youngest among the 251 hostages kidnapped. Of these, 67 remain in Gaza, including 35 who have been killed, according to the Israeli military.

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On Friday, Israeli authorities announced that Shiri Bibas was not among the bodies handed over on Thursday, and that the fourth body belonged to a woman from Gaza.

Netanyahu denounced what he described as “unimaginable contempt” and vowed to act “firmly to bring Shiri and all our hostages, both living and dead, back home” while ensuring Hamas “pays the price for its brutal and evil breach of the agreement.”

Hamas, for its part, claimed that the mother and her two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike in November 2023 but admitted the possibility of a mistake.

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Earlier, the Bibas family, whose father was previously released from Gaza, said they were still awaiting news about Shiri’s fate.

On Friday evening, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that it had handed over new remains to Israeli authorities but stated that it could not determine whether they belonged to Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas.

A Red Cross spokesperson told Agence France-Presse that a team from the organization “received remains that were later transferred to Israeli authorities. The ICRC is unable to confirm any further details.”

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On Friday night, the Israeli military announced that it was examining reports indicating that Hamas had handed over a second body to the Red Cross, which is believed to be that of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas. This comes after the Palestinian group delivered an initial body on Thursday, which was later found not to belong to the Bibas children’s mother.