On Saturday, Hamas was set to release six more hostages from Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, following Israel's confirmation that a body handed over earlier was that of hostage Shiri Bibas. The fragile truce between Israel and Hamas had been at risk due to the initial misidentification of a body released on Thursday as that of Bibas, who was kidnapped along with her two young sons and husband during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

However, late on Friday, Hamas handed over another body, which Bibas' family confirmed as hers. "Last night, our Shiri was returned home," her family said in a statement, noting her identification by Israel's Institute of Forensic Medicine.

In Gaza, armed and masked Hamas militants gathered at two locations, Rafah and Nuseirat, where six living hostages were expected to be handed over to the Red Cross for transport to Israeli forces. These are the last living hostages from a group of 33 to be freed in the first stage of the ceasefire deal that began on January 19.

Four of the hostages—Eliya Cohen, 27; Tal Shoham, 40; Omer Shem Tov, 22; and Omer Wenkert, 23—were seized by Hamas gunmen during their attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Two others, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, and Avera Mengistu, 39, have been held by Hamas for around a decade after entering Gaza separately under unexplained circumstances.

In return, Israel is expected to release 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in its jails, including 445 Gazans rounded up during the war and dozens of convicts serving lengthy or life terms, according to Hamas.

The Bibas family has become emblematic of the trauma experienced by Israel that day. The misidentification of Shiri Bibas' remains and the staged handover of their coffins by Hamas outraged Israelis. Her husband Yarden, who was seized separately, was freed on February 1. Israeli intelligence and forensic analysis of the bodies of 10-month-old Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel indicated that both had been deliberately killed by their captors. Israel's Army Radio, citing forensic conclusions, suggested that Shiri Bibas was likely slain with her children.

"Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family for rest," her family said in a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to make Hamas "pay the full price" for failing to return the body but refrained from walking away from the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas, which has accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire by blocking vital aid supplies into Gaza, nonetheless formally informed Israel of the names of the hostages to be released on Saturday, signaling that the handover would proceed.

While the ceasefire has paused the fighting, the prospect of a definitive end to the war remains uncertain. Hamas, responsible for killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages during its attack on Israel, aims to demonstrate its control over Gaza despite heavy losses in the war. The Israeli campaign has killed at least 48,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and reduced much of the enclave to rubble, leaving hundreds of thousands in makeshift shelters and reliant on aid.

Both sides intend to begin talks on a second stage of the ceasefire, which mediators hope will involve the return of around 60 remaining hostages, less than half of whom are believed to be alive, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. However, hopes for a deal have been clouded by disagreements over Gaza's future, further complicated by regional shock over U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to clear the enclave of Palestinians and develop it as a Riviera-style resort under U.S. control.