Israel-Hamas agree on new exchange with ceasefire set to expire this weekend

Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on Tuesday, local time, to exchange the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

They were due to be freed last Saturday, but the process was delayed after Israel protested what it calls "cruel" treatment of hostages during their release by Hamas.

This comes as the six-week ceasefire between the two parties expires this weekend, unless a new agreement is reached to extend it.

The two sides initially planned to begin negotiations to end the war permanently in early February, but such talks have yet to take place.