Three Israeli and five Thai hostages have been freed under a phased ceasefire deal that has halted fighting in Gaza.
The first hostage, 20-year-old female Israeli soldier Agam Berger, was released in northern Gaza.
Hours later, there were chaotic scenes in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis as footage showed a stunned Arbel Yehoud being led through a crowd, flanked by Palestinian militants.
Image: Arbel Yehoud is surrounded as she is handed over to the Red Cross. Pic: Reuters
The Israeli civilian was at the centre of a dispute between Israel and Hamas last weekend.
It’s suspected she was being held by Islamic Jihad, another militant group in Gaza.
A third Israeli, civilian Gadi Mozes, 80, was also released on Thursday.
Image: Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Moses. Pic: Reuters
Israeli military identified the five Thai nationals as Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakhan, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat and Rumnao Surasak.
In return for the release of the eight hostages, Israel was expected to set free 110 Palestinians detained in prisons, including children, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
Among them are a 61-year-old held since 1992 and 30 teenagers, the youngest a 15-year-old boy.
However, their release was delayed after Israel condemned the “harrowing” scenes endured by Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Mozes during their handover to the Red Cross.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the scenes as “shocking” and “horrific”.
Image: Palestinian Hamas militants release female Israeli soldier Agam Berger. Pic: Reuters
The latest planned exchange is part of a fragile truce – mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt – that began on 19 January and has so far held, aimed at winding down the deadliest war ever fought between Israel and Hamas.
In the first round, Hamas released three Israeli soldiers, including British-Israeli Emily Damari, in return for 90 Palestinians, including a teacher who said she had been held for seven months.
Among the roughly 250 people taken from Israel during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack which ignited the conflict, some have died in captivity in Gaza, while others have been released or rescued.
More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Hamas-run authorities in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
On Monday, hundreds of thousands of Gazans traversed rubble and dirt to return to what was left of their homes in the north of the Gaza Strip.
But joy was tempered by grief as many discovered shattered or looted homes, no running water in the vicinity and dire shortages of basic supplies.
On Thursday, a new Israeli law came into effect banning the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) from Israeli territory.
It raised fears of a shutdown of its schools, medical facilities and other services in east Jerusalem – and possibly more in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where UNRWA is the biggest provider of aid.
British MP Sarah Champion, who chairs the International Development Committee of MPs, called the ban “devastating”.
“Food, water, education, even rubbish collection will all be affected,” she said.
“In the strongest possible terms, I urge the UK government to do everything it can to get all parties round the table and ensure that UNRWA can fulfil its UN-mandated work. The success of the current ceasefire hangs in the balance if not.”
Source : Sky News
