Israel has released the last share of Palestinian prisoners to release in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement on several floors with Hamas, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a team of negotiators to Cairo for more discussions on the fragile break.
Thursday, the release of 641 prisoners, including more than 450 who arrived in the besieged and bombed Gaza Strip, took place following another Israeli delay and after Hamas has given the remains of four Israeli captives.
The publication of the Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Abu Amsha, who arrived on Thursday in Khan Younis of Gaza, said that he was facing horrible conditions in detention and that he had only received one meal per day, which was “very bad”.
“They were fighting and humiliated us. The patients have not received any medical treatment. There were a lot of skin diseases in prisons and we couldn’t change the clothes since the first day of our detention, “Abu Amsha told Tel Aviv Tribune.
In the first phase of the ceasefire which entered into force last month, Israel released more than 2,000 prisoners and detained in exchange for 25 live captives and the remains of eight others who had been detained in Gaza.
Israeli’s relentless bombing of Israel was interrupted and Israeli troops withdrew from certain positions in Gaza, but Israeli forces continued to rape the ceasefire, the troops killing 17 people in the last 48 hours, according to Palestinian health officials.
The humanitarian protocol of the first phase of the ceasefire was not implemented either.
The Nour Odeh of Tel Aviv Tribune, reporting from the Jordanian capital Amman, said that Israel “had not authorized enough humanitarian aid in the form of tents, mobile houses, etc.”.
Israeli delegation in Cairo
The initial phase must expire on Friday. Egypt said that discussions on the second phase began in the capital of Cairo.
Heads of Israel, the Key Mediator of Qatar and the United States began “intensive discussions” on the second phase of the ceasefire in Cairo, the state service of the State of Egypt said in a statement.
“Mediators also discuss means to improve the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as part of efforts to mitigate the suffering of the population and support the stability of the region,” he said.
The second phase also includes securing the release of remaining captives and a complete withdrawal of the Israeli Gaza forces.
Israeli authorities believe that less than half of the 59 captives still held in Gaza are alive.
After the exchange on Thursday, Israel announced that he was sending a delegation to the Egyptian capital for interviews with mediators.
Earlier Thursday, the Minister of Israel for Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar, told journalists in Jerusalem that the delegation would go to Egypt to see if there was an agreement to negotiate an extension in the first phase of the truce.
“We said we were ready to extend the frame to free to free up more hostages. If possible, we will.
The Israeli government is under public pressure to extend the ceasefire and guarantee the release of the remaining captives, while some officials of the far-right government wish to return to war.
Hamas said earlier on Thursday that it was ready to start talks in the second phase and that the only way the remaining captives in Gaza are released is commitment to the ceasefire.
A few hours before the start of the talks, the Israeli energy minister Eli Cohen told the public broadcaster Kan that Israel had demanded that the army remained in the corridor of Philadelphi, which manages the length of the southern border of Gaza with Egypt.
Israeli troops are supposed to start with the border area of Gaza-Egypt on Saturday and finish it within eight days. There was no immediate comment on the corridor of Egypt, which opposes any Israeli presence on the side of Gaza of its border.
More than 48,000 people have been killed in the War of Israel against Gaza since October 2023, according to Palestinian health officials. The war wasted the crowded coastal enclave and moved the majority of its population several times.
Israel launched its assault against Gaza following the attack led by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed at least 1,139 people while about 250 others were caught in captivity.
