Gaza Updates: No choice for Israel but to start 2nd phase truce talks — Hamas

Thursday, February 27, 2025

06:20 GMT — No choice for Israel but to start 2nd phase truce talks — Hamas

Hamas said that Israel has "no choice but to start negotiations" on a second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, after the group handed over the bodies of four Israelis taken captive during the attack of October 7, 2023.

"We imposed the synchronisation of the process of handing over the bodies of the enemy prisoners with the release of our heroic prisoners," the group said in a statement on Telegram, adding: "It has no choice but to start negotiations for the second phase.

05:45 GMT — Palestinian government in Gaza discusses prisoner exchange

The Media Office of the Government in Gaza announced that it held discussions with a delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about Israel’s violations in Gaza and the "sensitive humanitarian and legal issues" in the ongoing prisoner exchange process.

During the meeting in Gaza City, Ismail al-Thawabta, the director of the Media Office, raised questions with the Red Cross delegation about the treatment of both Israeli and Palestinian prisoners in the exchange process.

Al-Thawabta highlighted the humanitarian and ethical approach that the Palestinian group Hamas follows when handing over the bodies of Israeli captives to the Red Cross, questioning why the same standard was not applied to Palestinian prisoners.

04:34 — Buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons arrive in Gaza

Buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons arrived in Gaza, live footage showed.

Israel had refused to release prisoners last Saturday.

03:50 GMT — Israel has released Palestinians from Ofer Prison.

A bus carrying dozens of Palestinian prisoners arrived in the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, heading toward the Cultural Palace in Ramallah, where their families are waiting, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.

The correspondent added that the bus was accompanied by teams from the International Red Cross.

Hamas' Prisoners Information Office said that among those released, 43 prisoners are expected to be freed to the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, out of a total of 620 prisoners set to be released.

03:25 GMT — Hamas says ready to start talks on second phase of truce

Hamas said that Israel had "no choice but to start negotiations" on a second phase of the Gaza ceasefire after the group handed over the bodies of four Israelis in the latest exchange.

The resistance group also said that it abides by the ceasefire and is ready to start the talks on the second phase.

02:43 GMT — Hamas hands over four hostage bodies to Red Cross

An Israeli security official has told the AFP news agency that Hamas had handed over four bodies to the Red Cross, while a senior leader from the Palestinian resistance said the bodies belonged to Israeli hostages.

"Four bodies transferred to the Red Cross from Hamas," the official said. "The four bodies were handed over a short while ago, and we are waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners," the Hamas official said, referring to the remains of the hostages.

02:00 GMT — Israel has shown 'unprecedented disregard for human rights' in Gaza: UN human rights chief

The UN Human Rights Chief has accused Israel of showing an unprecedented disregard for human rights in its genocide in Palestine's Gaza.

"Nothing justifies the appalling manner in which Israel has conducted its military operations in Gaza, which consistently breached international law", said Volker Turk, while presenting a new report on the human rights situation in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

For our live updates from Wednesday, February 26, 2025, click here.