After four female Israeli soldiers were released by Hamas over the weekend, six more hostages were to be released this week. Some of those expected to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire with Israel are thought to be dead.

The civilian, Arbel Yehud, should have been among the first two groups of hostages released on Jan. 19 and Jan. 25 under the cease-fire deal, according to the Israeli authorities.

Hamas terrorists flooded across the border into southern Israel, killing close to 1,200 people and dragging 251 hostages back to Gaza.