Hamas handed over 3 Israeli prisoners, and Tel Aviv released 183 Palestinian prisoners in exchange, in the latest prisoner exchange between the two sides, which is the fourth since the ceasefire was declared.

The operation, which appeared to be smooth and quick, took place days before the start of the second phase negotiations, the agreement on which would mean a final cessation of the war, and its failure would herald the return of the specter of war once again.

The Qassam Brigades, affiliated with Hamas, chose to hand over the Israelis at two stations: the first in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, and the second in the Gaza port in Gaza City in the north, in messages the movement wanted to send to Israel and the world.

Qassam militants handed over Ofer Calderon, a French citizen with Israeli citizenship, and Yarden Bibas to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, and Keith Siegel, an American with Israeli citizenship, to the port of Gaza City. Bibas is Sheri’s husband and the father of Kfir and Ariel, who Hamas said in November 2023 were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The handover did not witness any of the scenes that dominated the previous handover on Thursday, when Hamas members had difficulty separating the detainees from the crowds that gathered around them in Gaza.

The movement was keen to send multiple messages through the use of images, slogans and symbols during the handover process. In addition to the show of force by gunmen from different units in the Qassam Brigades, and the selection of sites that Israel had announced its control over and the dismantling of Hamas, the fighters raised pictures of the Qassam leader, Mohammed Deif, and others from the military council who were killed by Israel. A banner read: “We put our leaders before the soldiers,” and another large banner read: “Zionism will not win.”

Hamas deliberately displayed Israeli military symbols, such as the symbol of Unit 8200, which is affiliated with the Israeli military intelligence (Aman), and the symbol of Unit 414, which is affiliated with the Gaza Division in the Southern Command of the Israeli army, and symbols specific to the General Security Service (Shabak), and printed on all of them: “Zionism will not win.”

It also deliberately displayed a map with the name “Ra’im” written on it in Arabic and Hebrew, referring to the “Ra’im” kibbutz adjacent to the Gaza Strip, which Hamas occupied in the attack of October 7, 2023, and next to it were fighters carrying Israeli weapons that they had obtained during the attack.

Israel confirmed that it had received its prisoners, and said that they were in good health, unlike the Palestinian prisoners who were released in Ramallah and Gaza.

Israel released 183 Palestinians on Saturday, including 18 with life sentences, 54 with long sentences, and 111 from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after October 7, 2023.

The prisoners arrived in a Red Cross bus to Ramallah, amidst a large popular reception, and later the prisoners from the Gaza Strip arrived in the Strip.

The Palestinians carried the prisoners and paraded them through the streets of Ramallah in the West Bank and Khan Yunis in Gaza, amidst great joy, while drawn rifles appeared in Ramallah, which later turned out to belong to the Palestinian security services.

The Palestinian prisoners appeared to have lost a lot of weight and were in a difficult health condition. The Palestinian News Agency confirmed that a number of the released prisoners were transferred to Ramallah hospitals to receive treatment, after their health conditions deteriorated as a result of the attacks they were subjected to inside the prisons, especially before their release as part of the exchange deal.

The exchange deal, which took place on Saturday, is the fourth, and was carried out early, and the way was opened for the first group of Palestinians to cross from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah crossing.

Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the first batch of wounded people in the Gaza Strip left on Saturday for Egypt via the Rafah land crossing, and included about 50 wounded people who will receive treatment in Al-Arish hospitals.

According to the sources, “the lists were prepared by the Ministry of Health in Gaza and were transferred through mediators to Israel, which in turn approved them and the names of those accompanying the wounded. Each patient was accompanied by a first-degree relative.”

Among the injured were Hamas members who were injured in the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

According to the agreement, the crossing will initially be opened to 50 wounded militants and 50 wounded civilians, along with their companions, with 100 others, most of them students, likely allowed to pass for humanitarian reasons.

So far, 18 detainees have been released, including five Thais released last Thursday, in exchange for 400 Palestinian detainees. Of the 251 detainees, 76 remain in Hamas custody, including the bodies of at least 34 hostages, who the Israeli military has confirmed were killed.

During the first phase of the ceasefire, 33 Israelis are scheduled to be released in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinians, while the second phase negotiations include the release of more than 60 Israelis from Gaza, including officers and soldiers.

The United States is pushing to actually enter the second phase, but many Israelis and Palestinians believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may fail the second phase negotiations, but they are betting that US President Donald Trump’s desire to end the war will eventually rein Netanyahu in.

Talks on the next phase are scheduled to begin next Monday, 16 days after the agreement goes into effect, before Netanyahu and Trump meet at the White House on Tuesday.