Palestinian sources said Sunday night that Hamas summoned teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to a site in central Gaza to meet Israeli hostages and begin the handover process under a prisoner-exchange deal with Israel. The sources said four of the captives were alive but suffering severe injuries.
According to the sources, the ICRC was called to a specified location in the middle of the Strip to initiate procedures for transferring the hostages. It was not immediately clear whether the Red Cross would transport the hostages and any remains directly to Israel or await further arrangements for a grouped transfer.
Israel’s Army Radio said families of Israeli prisoners were informed that the first releases were expected in the morning from two separate locations inside Gaza, with a second batch anticipated soon after from a third site.
The ICRC has not issued operational details.