Hamas will release the last living American hostage and hand over four bodies

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced this Friday that it has accepted a proposal from mediators to resume negotiations on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, it stated that it will release an Israeli-American hostage and hand over the bodies of four others who were kidnapped during the attacks on October 7, 2023.

According to Hamas, the proposal was delivered on Thursday, and the group responded “responsibly and positively,” reaffirming its willingness to negotiate and reach a comprehensive agreement on the second phase of the process. In its response, sent to the mediators early Friday, Hamas confirmed its commitment to releasing Israeli soldier Edan Alexander and handing over the bodies of four other individuals with dual nationality. It also urged Israel to fully comply with its obligations under the ceasefire agreement, according to the Palestinian newspaper Filastin.

The first phase of the truce between Israel and Hamas ended on March 1 without an agreement on the next steps. On Tuesday, a senior member of the insurgent group confirmed that new talks had begun in Doha, the capital of Qatar, where Israel had also sent a negotiating team.

In a statement, Hamas said that its delegation received the mediators’ proposal on Thursday and that its response included the release of soldier Edan Alexander and the handover of the remains of four individuals with dual nationality.

During the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 33 hostages, including eight who were deceased, in exchange for the release of approximately 1,800 Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons. However, it did not specify when the release of Edan Alexander or the handover of the bodies would take place. Other countries involved in the negotiations also did not immediately confirm Hamas’ statement.

Talks in Doha are ongoing in an effort to agree on the next phase of the ceasefire. In a separate statement, Hamas official Husam Badran reaffirmed the group’s commitment to fully implementing the agreement in all its phases and warned that any Israeli deviation from the terms would bring negotiations back to square one.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to push for an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire, while Hamas insists on moving forward to the second, which would include the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, and a lasting peace agreement.