Israeli and Hamas officials announced on Tuesday that they have agreed to exchange the bodies of deceased hostages in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. This agreement will help maintain their fragile ceasefire for a few more days.

Since Saturday, Israel has postponed the release of 600 Palestinian inmates in protest of what it claims is the harsh treatment of hostages by Hamas during their release. The terrorist group has stated that negotiations on a second phase cannot begin until they are freed and that the delay is a grave breach of their truce. The deadlock risked breaking the ceasefire as the first six-week phase of the deal nears its end this weekend. Late Tuesday, Hamas announced that a dispute had been resolved during a visit to Cairo by a delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya, a senior political leader of the group.

This agreement paved the way for the return of four more dead hostages and the release of hundreds of additional prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal. The statement said that the prisoners who were set to be released would be freed at the same time as the bodies of the Israeli prisoners, as agreed. Additionally, a new group of Palestinian prisoners will also be released. An Israeli official, who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed that an agreement had been reached to bring back the bodies in the coming days. He did not provide further details.

This agreement could pave the way for the expected visit of the White House's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the region. Witkoff has stated his desire for the parties to enter into talks on the second phase, which calls for the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and the negotiation of a war end.