Tel Aviv, Israel
CNN
 — 

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that Israel has received four coffins believed to contain the remains of Israeli hostages.

The International Committee of the Red Cross delivered the coffins to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the Kerem Shalom crossing, facilitated by mediators from Egypt. The identification process for the remains has commenced within Israel, according to an official statement.

“Families of the hostages are being kept informed about the developments and will receive official updates upon the complete identification of the remains,” the Prime Minister’s office stated, urging the public to respect the privacy of those affected.

In the near future, Israel is expected to release a significant number of Palestinian prisoners in return.

Early Thursday morning, video footage showed a group of Palestinian prisoners arriving in Ramallah via a Red Cross vehicle, greeted by enthusiastic crowds, though the exact number of released individuals remains uncertain.

This marks the final handover of hostages and Palestinian detainees under Phase 1 of the ceasefire agreement established by Hamas and Israel last month.

Officially, this truce is set to conclude on Saturday, but discussions regarding its extension are still unclear.

Previously, Israel announced it would dispatch a team from the National Center for Forensic Medicine to the Kerem Shalom border to aid in the identification of the deceased hostages.

An Israeli spokesperson indicated earlier that the release of Palestinian prisoners would not take place until the hostages’ remains had been definitively identified.

Past transfers sparked controversy when one of the bodies turned over by Hamas – initially believed to belong to hostage Shiri Bibas – was later identified as that of an unidentified woman from Gaza. Hamas subsequently attributed this to an error and returned Bibas’ body.

Should the four identified remains correspond to the hostages, it would mean Hamas and its allies currently hold 59 captives, according to Israeli sources, with the Israeli government estimating that over half of them are presumed deceased. Notably, one, Hadar Goldin, has been dead since prior to October 7, 2023.

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military faction, announced earlier on Wednesday that the remains of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur would be handed over.

Reports indicate that Mantzur, aged 85, was the oldest hostage captured on October 7, 2023, and was killed during the Hamas assault, with his remains held in Gaza. However, Israel has not confirmed the deaths of the other individuals.

The most recent transfer occurred privately after the Israeli Prime Minister’s office announced an agreement for the return of the remains “through an agreed procedure and without Hamas-led ceremonies.”

This exchange was initially questioned on Saturday after Israel did not release over 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in response to what it termed “humiliating ceremonies” performed by Hamas during earlier handovers.

Earlier that same Saturday, Hamas freed six Israeli hostages from Gaza across two public events and one private transfer, marking the last return of living captives in the initial phase of the ceasefire arrangement established last month.

Among those slated for release is Nael Barghouti, recognized as the longest-serving Palestinian political prisoner. He has been imprisoned intermittently since his first capture in 1978, facing accusations of involvement in attacks against Israeli forces.

Barghouti was previously released in a 2011 agreement between Israel and Hamas, which resulted in the exchange of 1,100 Palestinians for one Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas for five years, Gilad Shalit. However, he was rearrested by Israeli authorities in 2014 for alleged “Hamas membership” and has been serving a life term since then.

Another notable individual among those expected for release is Bilal Abu Ghanem, who is serving multiple life sentences for the murder of three Israelis on a bus in Jerusalem in 2015.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Lauren Izso contributed to this report.