Hamas frees four Israeli hostages to Red Cross in Gaza

2 weeks ago 10

GAZA CITY: Hamas militants connected Saturday handed implicit to the Red Cross 4 Israeli women hostages nether a truce woody successful the Gaza warfare that is besides expected to spot a 2nd radical of Palestinian prisoners freed.

An AFP writer witnessed the handover aft the 4 were presented connected a signifier astatine a main quadrate successful Gaza City, wherever dozens of masked, equipped militants had gathered earlier.

Four Red Cross vehicles had arrived up of the handover.

The fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, carrying battle rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, gathered successful rows, galore carrying their groups’ banners and wearing greenish headbands, arsenic crowds of Gaza residents gathered to watch.

Israel confirmed Friday that it had received a database of the hostages’ names.

On Saturday, Palestinian sources said Israel is to escaped 200 Palestinian prisoners successful speech for the hostages.

According to the Israeli Hostage and Missing Families Forum, a run group, the women released are Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy -- each aged 20 -- and Liri Albag, 19.

They had been held captive for much than 15 months, since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 onslaught connected Israel.

Palestinians displaced by the warfare to confederate Gaza should beryllium capable to statesman returning to the northbound pursuing Saturday’s releases, Bassem Naim, a subordinate of Hamas’s governmental bureau based successful Qatar, told AFP connected Friday.

The truce has besides led to a surge of food, fuel, aesculapian and different assistance into rubble-strewn Gaza but Israel’s UN ambassador connected Friday confirmed that the UN bureau for Palestinian refugees, Gaza’s main assistance agency, indispensable extremity each operations successful Israel by Thursday.

The hostage-prisoner speech is portion of a fragile ceasefire statement betwixt Israel and Hamas that took effect past Sunday, and which is intended to pave the mode to a imperishable extremity to the war.

Mediators Qatar and the United States announced the statement days up of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Trump has since claimed recognition for securing the woody aft months of fruitless negotiations.

Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s equipped wing, said connected Telegram Friday that “as portion of the prisoners’ speech deal, the Qassam brigades decided to merchandise time 4 women soldiers”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau confirmed it had received the names done mediators.

‘Worry and fear’

According to Israel’s situation service, immoderate of the Palestinians released volition spell to Gaza, with the remainder returning to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The ceasefire statement should beryllium implemented successful 3 phases, but the past 2 stages person not yet been finalised.

“The interest and fearfulness that the woody volition not beryllium implemented to the extremity is eating distant astatine each of us,“ said Vicky Cohen, the parent of hostage Nimrod Cohen.

In Gaza, families displaced by much than a twelvemonth of warfare longed to instrumentality home, but galore volition find lone rubble wherever houses erstwhile stood.

“Even if we thought astir returning, determination is nary spot for america to enactment our tents due to the fact that of the destruction,“ Theqra Qasem, a displaced woman, told AFP.

During the first, 42-day signifier that began Sunday, 33 hostages Israel believes are inactive live should beryllium freed successful staggered releases successful speech for astir 1,900 Palestinians held successful Israeli jails.

Three hostages -- Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher -- returned location connected the archetypal time of the truce.

Ninety Palestinians, mostly women and minors, were released successful exchange.

The deal’s 2nd signifier is to spot negotiations for a much imperishable extremity to the war, but analysts person warned it risks collapsing due to the fact that of the deal’s multi-phase quality and heavy distrust betwixt Israel and Hamas.

During their October 7, 2023 attack, Hamas militants took 251 hostages, 91 of whom stay successful Gaza, including 34 the Israeli subject has confirmed are dead.

The onslaught resulted successful the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based connected authoritative Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory effect has killed astatine slightest 47,283 radical successful Gaza, a bulk civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s wellness ministry, figures which the UN considers reliable.

‘Situation remains dire’

Under the deal, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza’s densely populated areas is to let for the exchanges arsenic good arsenic “the instrumentality of the displaced radical to their residences”, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani has said.

Almost the full Gaza colonisation of 2.4 cardinal has been displaced by the war

According to the United Nations, by December 1, astir 69 percent of buildings successful the Gaza Strip had been destroyed oregon damaged, and the UN Development Programme estimated past twelvemonth that it could instrumentality until 2040 to rebuild each destroyed homes.

Hundreds of truckloads of assistance person entered Gaza regular since the ceasefire began, but the UN says “the humanitarian concern remains dire”.

The UN bureau for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, volition beryllium efficaciously barred from operating arsenic of Thursday.

In a missive addressed to United Nations main Antonio Guterres, Ambassador Danny Danon confirmed: “UNRWA is required to cease its operations successful Jerusalem, and evacuate each premises successful which it operates successful the city, nary aboriginal than 30 January 2025.”

UNRWA main Philippe Lazzarini warned connected societal media level X connected Friday that preventing the bureau from operating “might sabotage the Gaza ceasefire, failing erstwhile again hopes of radical who person gone done unspeakable suffering.”

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