Important Takeaways:

• Hamas on Tuesday said that it will release the dead bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest people held by the group, Kfir and Ariel Bibas.
• The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached during negotiations in Cairo for “four slain hostages” to be handed over on Thursday and “six living hostages” to be released on Saturday.
• It added that “four additional slain hostages are expected to be handed over to Israel next week.”
• It is clearest indication that the Bibas children – who were just nine months and four years old, respectively, when they were kidnapped in October 2023 – are indeed dead.
• Israel has not yet confirmed their deaths and has not yet commented on Hamas’ announcement.
• Hamas’ announcement came on the day Israel said it would begin talks on the second phase of the Gaza hostage-ceasefire agreement.
• Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said negotiations could begin “this week” following discussions with “our American friends”.
• He committed to aiming to reach an agreement by the 42nd day of the truce, as stipulated in the original deal, and said the possibility of a longer-term agreement was an “option”.

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