GAZA CITY: Hamas said it would exchange the bodies of four Israeli hostages for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday, capping the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal.The United States said talks were on track for a second phase of the ceasefire deal that has largely held but whose complexity and long-drawn-out implementation have highlighted its fragility.In Israel on Wednesday, thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral procession of Shiri Bibas and her sons, who were killed in captivity in Gaza and had become symbols of the country’s hostage ordeal.The ceasefire has largely halted the Israel-Hamas war sparked by the October 7, 2023 attack, and has seen 25 hostages released alive so far in exchange for hundreds of prisoners.“Mediators have informed Hamas that the (hostage-prisoner) exchange will take place on Thursday… Hamas and other resistance factions will hand over four bodies of Israeli captives, and in return, Israel will release more than 600 Palestinian detainees,” a Hamas official told AFP.Another senior Hamas official said the “exchange will happen simultaneously”.In Washington, US President Donald Trump’s top envoy on the Middle East said Israeli representatives were en route to talks on the next phase of the ceasefire deal.“We’re making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak,” Steve Witkoff told an event for the American Jewish Committee.“It’s either going to be in Doha or in Cairo, where negotiations will begin again with the Egyptians and the Qataris,” he said.Israel has yet to confirm its release, and has not commented on whether it is sending a delegation to discuss the second phase of the truce.This first phase is supposed to end on Saturday, but negotiations planned for the rest of the process — which were to begin in early February — have not yet started.Hamas has said it is ready to release “in one go” all the remaining hostages during the second phase.On Sunday, the group accused Israel of endangering the Gaza truce by delaying the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners.Israel justified the delay by citing concerns over how the hostages have been freed, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing the process as “humiliating ceremonies”.Bibas family funeralIn Israel, thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral procession of Shiri Bibas and her sons Kfir and Ariel.Israel’s national anthem was played as the black vehicle convoy passed through the crowd of mourners in the central city of Rishon LeZion, where the remains of the three hostages had been prepared for burial.Their burial was set to take place at a private ceremony later.