Israeli and Hamas officials on Tuesday announced that they have agreed to exchange the bodies of four hostages for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, reported AP.

Israel has delayed freeing 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday, citing the harsh treatment of hostages by Hamas during their release in three instances since January 19.

The exchanges are part of the first phase of an ongoing ceasefire agreement announced in January by Qatar. Doha was the key mediator in the negotiations. The first phase involves the exchange of 33 hostages for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.

Hamas called Israel’s delay in releasing the 600 Palestinians a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and said that talks for a second phase could not proceed until the prisoners are freed. The militant group took more than 200 hostages in an attack on southern Israel in October 2023.

The deadlock threatened the collapse of the fragile ceasefire, with the first six-week phase of the deal set to expire this weekend.

On Tuesday, Hamas announced that the dispute had been resolved after a delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya, a senior political official in the group, visited Cairo in Egypt for talks.

According to a Hamas statement, the prisoners previously scheduled for release “will be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners who were agreed to be handed over”, along with a separate group of Palestinian prisoners.

The latest agreement would fulfill both sides’ commitments for the first phase of the ceasefire, with Hamas returning 25 hostages and eight bodies in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The agreement could also pave the way for a visit by United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who has expressed his intention to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire.

The second phase aims to secure the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and negotiate an end to the war. These talks, originally scheduled to begin weeks ago, are yet to take place.

Israel’s military offensive against Gaza began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, killing more than 47,700 persons, including over 17,400 children. About 400 Israeli soldiers have died in the conflict.

Some of the hostages were released in November 2023 as part of a brief ceasefire deal and some were killed as a result of the war.

The ceasefire agreement has allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their neighbourhoods in Gaza. About 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced since October 2023, according to the United Nations’ Palestine refugee agency.

According to the United Nations, 92% of all housing units in Gaza have either been destroyed or damaged in the Israeli attacks.