Middle East latest: Hamas says it is ready to negotiate the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire

Hamas said Thursday it was ready to negotiate the the next phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after a swap overnight in which it handed over what it said were the remains of four hostages in exchange for the release of more than 600 Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

It was the final such exchange the two sides agreed to as part of a truce that's set to end this weekend. Negotiations over a second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more prisoners and a lasting ceasefire, have not yet begun.

An Israeli official says the military will not withdraw from a strategic corridor along the Gaza Strip's southern border. The pullout was part of the ceasefire and Israel’s refusal could spark a crisis with Hamas and key mediator Egypt at a sensitive moment for the fragile truce.

___

Here's the latest:

Israel releases 46 Palestinian teens and women back to their loved ones in Gaza

Dozens of Palestinian teenagers, many of them children, as well as women detained by Israel in Gaza were released back to hugs and tears from their loved ones on Thursday, marking the latest release of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

As they disembarked from the Red Cross buses in the southern town of Khan Younis, the teenagers looked gaunt and skinny. Rights groups have alleged widespread mistreatment and abuse in Israeli prisons and military detention facilities.

Many detainees fell into the arms of their relatives, who have spent days waiting for them ever since Israel held up their release last weekend to protest what it called Hamas' cruel treatment of hostages during the releases.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, a group representing current and former prisoners, said that those being released into Gaza on Thursday were 44 male teenagers ages 15-19 and two women.

The scenes came after Israel released 500 prisoners back into Gaza overnight, in exchange for Hamas releasing four hostage bodies.

Israel rounded up hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and has held them without charge on security suspicions.

Israel has yet to release 24 Palestinian detainees, says group that represents prisoners

Israel on Thursday had yet to return 24 Palestinian detainees whose release was supposed to occur overnight, a group that represents prisoners said, after Hamas sent back to Israel the bodies of four hostages killed in captivity.

The 24 Palestinian detainees include 23 teenagers and one woman, all taken into Israeli custody during military raids in Gaza. They were part of a group of over 600 prisoners whose release Israel held back last weekend to protest what it called Hamas’s cruel treatment of hostages during the ceasefire deal. Israel released the bulk of the prisoners overnight except for the woman and minors.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, a group that represents current and former prisoners, said that in addition to the 24, Israel was also set to release 22 more Palestinians, including 21 aged 15-19 and one woman. Israeli forces have arrested hundreds of people in Gaza and held them without trial.

As part of the ceasefire, Israel committed to releasing more than 1,000 detainees who hadn’t participated in the Oct. 7 attack.

Israeli official says army will not withdraw from corridor along Gaza-Egypt border

An Israeli official says the army will not withdraw from a corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border as required in the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

The official spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The official said Israel needed to maintain a presence in the so-called Philadelphi corridor to prevent weapons smuggling.

Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the corridor could spark a crisis with Hamas and Egypt, a key mediator that has repeatedly called for Israel to pull out.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire is set to expire this weekend and negotiations over the next phase have not yet begun.

___

Associated Press writer Josef Federman contributed from Jerusalem

Israeli hostage group says the remains of 3 hostages returned by Hamas have been identified

An Israeli group representing families of hostages held by Hamas says the remains of three of four bodies returned early Thursday have been identified. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Thursday that the bodies of Ohad Yahalomi, Itzhak Elgarat and Shlomo Mantzur have been returned to Israel.

Mantzur, 85, was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and his body was taken into Gaza. The other two were kidnapped alive and the circumstances surrounding their deaths were not known.