Hamas was set to hand over the bodies of four hostages late Wednesday in exchange for Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, days before the first phase of their ceasefire will end. Israel has delayed the release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it called the cruel treatment of hostages during their handover by Hamas. The militant group has called the delay a "serious violation" of the ceasefire and said talks on a second phase aren't possible until the Palestinians are freed. The handover would complete both sides' obligations under the ceasefire's first phase.

Hamas has handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two children who have long been feared dead and had come to symbolize the nation's agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The militant group said it released the remains of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. Kfir was the youngest captive taken that day. Hamas has said all four were killed in Israeli airstrikes. The militants displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, surrounded by banners, before handing them over to the Red Cross.

A senior Hamas leader says the militant group will release six living Israeli hostages on Saturday and the bodies of four others on Thursday. The surprise acceleration in releases is apparently in return for Israel allowing long-requested mobile homes and construction equipment into the Gaza Strip. The six are the last living hostages set to be freed under the ceasefire's first phase. The sides have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase, in which Hamas says it will only release dozens more hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

News that three high-profile hostages are expected to be released has brought excitement and trepidation to Israel on Friday. The men include Yarden Bibas, who is the father of the youngest captives held in Gaza. He, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon have all become household names in Israel since their abduction. The men's release would be the fourth since a ceasefire paused the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas this month. In its first phase, 33 Israeli captives are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Hundreds of Israelis have sent orange balloons into the air to mark the fifth birthday of one of two children held captive by militants in the Gaza Strip. Ariel Bibas, who along with his 1-year-old brother Kfir, has become a symbol of the struggle to release the hostages. The orange balloons are meant to symbolize Ariel and Kfir's bright red hair. During its Oct. 7 attack, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took some 250 people hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Among the 110 still held hostage, the Bibas boys are said to be the only children.