With just days to go before the first phase of the fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was set to expire, the terrorist group has agreed to release the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. 

Israel has delayed the release of about 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it regarded as the cruel treatment of hostages during their release by Hamas. 

“In light of Hamas’s repeated violations, including the ceremonies that humiliate our hostages and the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes, it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies,” the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Tensions were made worse after Hamas said it was turning over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons – only for it to later be revealed that the identity of the mom did not match. 

But Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou later told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas would hand over the bodies of four Israelis the next day.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, thousands of Israelis lined the highways as the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two children were transported to their burial.

Israelis are waiting on the side of a road where the funeral convoy carrying the coffins of slain hostages Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, will pass by near Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.  (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Shiri Bibas was kidnapped with her two sons — Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months old — from their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. 

Yarden Bibas, their father, was taken separately, and released during the ceasefire last month. The three will be buried on Kibbutz Nir Oz on Wednesday afternoon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.