Hamas returns bodies of 4 Israeli hostages

The Times of Israel reported that Hamas returned the bodies of four Israeli hostages on February 20 and Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip received them.

The Israeli military held a brief ceremony there before returning the hostages to Israel for forensic identification. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered attending the ceremony; however, he later decided not to attend, for reasons unknown. So far in phase one of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas has returned 19 living hostages and four dead bodies, out of a total of 33 hostages expected to be returned, in exchange for Israel releasing 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas members hand over the body of a hostage in Khan Younis city in Gaza on February 20.

In a related development, Arab leaders will gather in Saudi Arabia on February 21 to discuss how to respond to US President Donald Trump’s plan to take control of Gaza and relocate Palestinians. Observers say Trump’s plan fosters rare unity among Arab countries that oppose it, but they may still disagree over who will run Gaza and pay for reconstruction.

AFP quoted a source as saying that Arab leaders would discuss "a reconstruction plan to counter Trump's plan for Gaza". The meeting was initially expected to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan, but was later expanded to include Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Palestine.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hamas-trao-tra-thi-the-4-con-tin-israel-185250220215320784.htm