Hamas released four female Israeli soldiers held in Gaza and 200 Palestinian prisoners were freed from Israeli jails as part of the ceasefire deal that ended more than 15 months of war.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed on Saturday that it had transferred 128 Palestinian detainees to Gaza and the West Bank while local authorities handled the release and transfer of the rest, completing the second exchange under the the agreement entered into force last Sunday. .
Before the release of Israeli captives in Palestine Square in Gaza City, dozens of masked Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters gathered at the scene, where a large crowd of Palestinians also gathered.
The four women – Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag – walked onto a podium where they waved and smiled – probably under duress. They were then taken to ICRC vehicles, which transported them to Israeli forces.
ICRC representatives and a Hamas fighter were seen signing documents before the release.
Later on Saturday, buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners were seen leaving the Israeli military prison of Ofer in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli Prison Service said the 200 prisoners were released in accordance with the list published by Hamas.
The releases by both sides were welcomed by cheering crowds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and by Israelis in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli captives were among more than 200 soldiers and civilians captured during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed at least 1,139 people, according to a tally by Tel Aviv Tribune based on Israeli statistics.
In response to this attack, Israel launched a ferocious war on Gaza that has killed more than 47,283 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and destroyed much of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.
Delay in return to northern Gaza
Despite the conclusion of the exchanges on Saturday, Israel and Hamas accused the other side of violating the terms of the truce agreement.
Israel said that under the terms of the deal, a captive civilian woman, Arbel Yehud, 29, should have been released before the soldiers. A Hamas official told Tel Aviv Tribune that Yehuda was alive and would be released next Saturday.
Yossi Mekelberg, an analyst at UK-based Chatham House, told Tel Aviv Tribune that disagreements over which prisoners to release and the terms of their exchange showed the precariousness of the current ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
“This is an unstable and fragile situation, but the mediators are ensuring that each incident is not exaggerated,” Mekelberg said, adding that for the agreement to succeed, “it will require the international community to be constantly committed to ensuring that it moves forward. day after day.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Palestinians in Gaza would not be allowed to return to the northern part of the territory until the issue of liberation was resolved.
Thousands of Palestinians were displaced from northern Gaza during the war and many hoped to return home on Sunday under the truce agreement.
Israel has said it will not leave the Netzarim corridor, which runs through central Gaza, and therefore Palestinians cannot yet return to the north.
Hundreds of people were waiting to enter northern Gaza, following the announcement that displaced Palestinians would be allowed to return home to those areas on Sunday.
Hamas accused Israel of delaying the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
“We hold the occupation (Israel) responsible for any disruption in the implementation of the agreement and its repercussions on the rest of the stations,” the group said.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hind Khoudary, covering the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza, said many Palestinians view Saturday’s exchange of captives and prisoners as very important because they believe it will pave the way for their return to northern Gaza.
Khoudary cited sources as saying that many displaced Palestinians were already massing near the Wadi Gaza area, hoping to be able to cross to the north starting on Sunday.
Israel is also expected to open the Rafah border crossing in the south to allow the entry of more humanitarian aid and other commercial supplies.
Saturday’s exchange was the second since the ceasefire began on January 19, when Hamas handed over three Israeli civilians in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners.
Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons
Of the 200 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons on Saturday, 121 were serving life sentences, while 79 were serving long terms.
The oldest prisoner is 69 years old and the youngest is 15 years old. Seventy Palestinians are to be expelled, with Egypt to host them for 48 hours.
They will therefore be sent to Tunisia, Algeria and Turkey, all of which have agreed to receive them.
Tamer Qarmout, associate professor at the Doha Institute of Higher Studies, told Tel Aviv Tribune that the release of Palestinian prisoners is a “huge relief” for the families, even though it occurs amid the “horrible realities of the (Israeli) occupation.”
“These prisoners should have been released as part of a bigger deal that would end the conflict, that would bring peace through negotiations and an end to occupation, but the harsh reality in Palestine is that As we speak, the occupation continues,” Qarmout told Tel Aviv Tribune.