Two Israeli hostages held in Gaza, Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham, were handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Rafah, Al-Qahira al-Ikhbariya TV reported.
Four more hostages are to be handed over later in Nuseirat, Al Jazeera reported.
In mid-January, Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar and the United States, agreed to implement a ceasefire in Gaza, which came into effect on January 19. The implementation of the first phase of the agreement will last 42 days. During this time, Hamas will hand over to Israel at least 33 hostages, including the bodies of the dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
On February 3, the parties were to begin talks to discuss the parameters of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement. On February 9, an Israeli delegation, including representatives of the Mossad intelligence agency, the General Security Service, and the Israel Defense Forces, as well as the coordinator for abducted and missing persons, Gal Hirsch, arrived in Doha to discuss the technical details of the second phase of the ceasefire. However, on February 13, Hamas political bureau spokesman Taher al-Nounu said that the talks had not actually taken place and that Israel was "wasting time".
On February 20, the movement's spokesman Abdel Latif al-Kanua noted that consultations on the second phase of the Gaza deal had not yet begun.