Palestinians watch as Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, begin the ceremony during which they are handing over two Israeli hostages Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as part of the ceasefire deal. 

The Palestinian militant organization Hamas on Tuesday said it has reached an agreement with Israel for the simultaneous release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners by Israel and the return of four Israeli hostages' bodies by Hamas.

The deal aims to break the deadlock that had threatened to derail the ceasefire agreement before its first phase is completed.

Hamas said the planned release of Palestinian prisoners — halted by Israel days earlier — would now take place alongside the handover of the bodies of Israeli hostages.

The group did not specify when the exchange would happen. There was initially no official confirmation from Israel.

However, several Israeli media outlets, citing Israeli officials, confirmed the agreement between the two warring parties announced by Hamas.

The Times of Israel, citing an official, reported that the release would be carried out through Egypt on Wednesday.

Early on Sunday, Israel halted the release of Palestinian prisoners outlined in the ceasefire deal, stating that Hamas must first guarantee an end to what it described as "humiliating ceremonies" surrounding the release of Israeli hostages.

The suspension affected more than 600 Palestinian prisoners who were set to be freed in exchange for six Israeli hostages.

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Israel says it is conducting strikes in southern Syria

Israel confirmed it is conducting strikes in southern Syria, as the new Syrian government calls for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Syrian territory.

"We will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said regarding the strikes. "Any attempt by the Syrian regime forces and the country's terrorist organizations to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria will be met with fire."

Katz said the Israeli Air Force is "now attacking strongly in southern Syria as part of the new policy we have defined of pacifying southern Syria."

"We will not endanger the security of our citizens," he said.

Israel confirmed the strikes after Syrian state media reported several aircraft strikes near Damascus.

Israeli forces have been occupying the demilitarized buffer zone on Syria's border since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024.

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that Israeli forces will remain in the buffer zone, which separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, for some time.

Earlier this week, during remarks at a military graduation, Netanyahu vowed that Israel will not allow Syria's new army or the rebel group that toppled the Assad regime to "enter the area south of Damascus," 

Earlier Tuesday, the new Syrian government called for the "immediate and immediate and unconditional withdrawal" of Israeli forces from Syria, condemning the presence as a "flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian state."

Katz said last week that IDF troops will also remain in some areas of southern Lebanon, past the deadline for total withdrawal as outlined in its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, to "ensure the protection of all Israeli communities and deterrence against threats from Lebanon."

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