Tsachi Idan, Ohad Yahalomi, Itzik Elgarat & Shlomo Mansour: Israel expects Hamas to return 4 hostage bodies overnight

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed Wednesday evening that Israel and Hamas reached an agreement to exchange the bodies of four hostages for some 600 Palestinian prisoners whose release Israel halted last week.

“Pursuant to Israel's demands, agreement has been reached with the mediators: Four of our deceased hostages will be returned tonight in the framework of the first stage, in an agreed-upon procedure and without Hamas ceremonies,” the PMO stated.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered to postpone the release of the prisoners after the humiliating ceremony surrounding the release of the bodies of the Bibas family last weekend.

The Times of Israel reported that the families of the four hostages were informed by the authorities, but added that an official statement with their names will only come after they were identified.

The last remaining names on the list of 33 hostages slated for return during the current, first phase of the ceasefire are: Tsachi Idan, Ohad Yahalomi, Itzik Elgarat, and Shlomo Mansour.

However, in the evening, the families of Tsachi Idan and Itzik Elgarat announced they had been informed that the bodies of their loved ones are expected to be returned.

According to Al Jazeera, the release will be carried out on 11 p.m. Previous reports said that Hamas conceded to Israeli demands and would release the bodies without orchestrated ceremonies, transferring them to Egypt.

However, a Hamas official claimed this would be done in order to “prevent the occupation [Israel] from finding any pretext for delay or obstruction.”

The Idan family released a statement saying they were “still waiting for the awaited certainty, which we will only be able to get after he returns to Israel and after all the necessary checks are performed by the bodies authorized by the state, while preserving the privacy of Tsachi and his family.”

The family notes that Tsachi was alive at the time of the November 2023 hostage deal and thanks the public for the “much love and support.”

The story of the Idan family is among the most horrific, disturbing, and well-known among the many tragedies on Oct. 7. Tsachi Idan was 49 years old, the husband of Gali and father of three children, from Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

October 3, 2023

Two sisters: Maayan (18, right) and Sharon (16, left) Idan, in their last picture of happiness.

Four days later, Hamas terrorists attacked the family's home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Their father, Tsahi, tried to block the door to prevent the terrorists from entering.… pic.twitter.com/EtDNVBOZ9H

— The Voice Of Truth 🙌 (@thevoicetruth1) September 7, 2024

During the Hamas massacre, terrorists broke into their home. Tsachi and his eldest 18-year-old daughter, Maayan, held the door shut to try to protect the family. However, the terrorists managed to shoot Maayan through the door, and she died in her father’s arms.

The terrorists then held the family at gunpoint for hours and livestreamed the ordeal on Facebook, before kidnapping Tsachi, leaving his family behind. After several months, the family received word that Tsachi had been killed in captivity.

Itzik Elgarat was 69 years old at the time of his kidnapping. He was in his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of Oct. 7 when Hamas terrorists broke into his house, shot and wounded him, before taking him to Gaza.

Held hostage: Itzik Elgarat

69-year-old Itzik was in his Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked and shot him in the hand.

He called his brother to say: "this is the end, this is the end.” Not long after, Itzik's phone was located in Gaza. There has been… pic.twitter.com/Bk8ZiWluyd

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) November 18, 2023

Elgarat is a dual Israeli and Danish citizen, and his two children live there.

His brother Danny, who was the last one to talk to him just before the kidnapping, told Channel 12 News that his family was informed of Itzik’s upcoming release.

Iraq-born Shlomo Mansour was the oldest Israeli hostage in captivity at 86 years old at the time the terrorists kidnapped him from Kibbutz Kissufim. He was declared dead earlier this month.

Shlomo Mantzur (bottom right) was born in Baghdad. When he was 3, he survived a massacre. When he was 13, he fled Iraq and tried not to look back. Then came Oct. 7, 2023. https://t.co/QhilFcuLHA pic.twitter.com/s54Z3afbGT

— Matti Friedman (@MattiFriedman) February 25, 2025

His fate as the oldest hostage had garnered significant attention over the war, and his family regularly spoke out at events calling for the release of the hostages. As recently as last month, they allowed one of his unfinished artworks to be displayed as part of a Holocaust Memorial Day exhibit in London. 

When his death was announced, Kibbutz Kissufim stated: “Shlomo was much more than a community member to us – he was a father, a grandfather, a true friend and the beating heart of Kissufim. His smile, humility, and human warmth were an inspiration to us all. Our hearts are broken that we were unable to bring him back to us alive.”

Dual Israel-French citizen Ohad Yahalomi (49) was taken by Hamas after being wounded in a gun battle in his house in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Release Ohad Yahalomi !

Ohad, the father of Eitan, Yael and their little sister is a hostage in Gaza.

The Yahalomi family was kidnapped in its entirety: the mother Batsheva and the two young daughters were taken on one motorcycle, the son Eitan(12) on another motorcycle.

The… pic.twitter.com/uJtlyceluZ

— The Voice Of Truth 🙌 (@thevoicetruth1) February 24, 2025

He had remained outside of the family shelter, where his wife Batsheva, 12-year-old Eitan, 10-year-old Yael and their almost two-year-old toddler were hiding.

After Yahalomi was wounded, his family was kidnapped and he was initially left behind. While Eitan was taken to Gaza, Batsheva and the other two children managed to escape and returned to their home, where they discovered that Yahalomi had been taken as well.

12-year-old Eitan was released during the first hostage deal in Nov. 23. On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron wrote that all his heart was with “the family and loved ones of our compatriot Ohad Yahalomi.”

“In these suspended hours of pain and anguish, the nation stands by their side,” the president wrote on 𝕏.