Khan Younis: Hamas-led militants freed eight hostages Thursday as part of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but the chaotic handover of some of the captives, who masked militants shuttled through a rowdy crowd of thousands, drew an angry protest from Israel.
Israel was supposed to release 110 Palestinian prisoners later in the day, including around 30 serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was put on hold until the “safe release” of hostages can be assured.
Over six weeks, Hamas is to free 33 Israeli hostages — roughly one-third of those held— in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. As part of the truce, Israel has also pulled its forces back from major cities and allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in war-torn Gaza.
The sides are also to begin talks on a second phase aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack on Israel sparked the fighting.
The hostages released Thursday included a female Israeli soldier, a 29-year-old Israeli woman, an 80-year-old Israeli man, and five Thai labourers who had been working in southern Israel when they were captured.
The first hostage, soldier Agam Berger, 20, was released after Hamas paraded her in front of a crowd in the heavily destroyed urban Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Hours later, a chaotic scene unfolded at a handover of the other seven hostages in the southern city of Khan Younis, in front of the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Hundreds of militants from Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group arrived with a convoy, and thousands of people gathered to watch, some from the tilted rooftops of bombed-out buildings.
Footage showed hostage Arbel Yehoud looking stunned as masked militants hustled her through the shouting crowd, sometimes pushing people back.
About 20 friends of Yehoud gathered in southern Israel and watched as the tense scene unfolded on live television. Some cried. Others had their hands over their eyes or mouths. One friend yelled at the news anchor to “shut up” when she said the situation appeared dangerous. The crowd then burst into tears after she was turned over to the Red Cross.
Netanyahu condemned the “shocking scenes” and called on international mediators to ensure the safety of hostages in future releases.
The other Israeli released Thursday was Gadi Moses, 80. Five Thai nationals were freed and identified by Israel as Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Pongsak Tanna, 36, Sathian Suwankam, 35, Bannawat Seathao, 27, and Surasak Lamnau, 32.
The Israeli army confirmed all eight were brought into Israel. The government released footage of Berger, who was among five young, female soldiers abducted in the October 7 attack, hugging and crying with her parents.
Earlier, people cheered, clapped and whistled in a square in Tel Aviv as Berger’s handover unfolded on big screens next to a large clock that counted the days the hostages had been in captivity. Some held signs saying: “Agam we’re waiting for you at home.”
At the square, the White House’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, met briefly with families of hostages. “My message is that we’re with the families and that we care for them,” he told The Associated Press.
A number of foreign workers were taken captive along with dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers during Hamas’ attack. Twenty-three Thais were among more than 100 hostages released during a week-long ceasefire in November 2023. Israel says three Thais remain in captivity, two of whom are believed to be dead.
Among the people set to be released from prison is Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former militant leader and theatre director who took part in a dramatic jailbreak in 2021 before being rearrested days later.
Israel said Yehoud was supposed to have been freed on Saturday and delayed the opening of crossings to northern Gaza when she was not.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar, which brokered the ceasefire after a year of tough negotiations, resolved the dispute with an agreement that Yehoud would be released on Thursday. Another three hostages, all men, are set to be freed Saturday along with dozens more Palestinian prisoners.
Monday, Israel began allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, the most heavily destroyed part of the territory, and hundreds of thousands streamed back. Many found only mounds of rubble where their homes had been.
Ceasefire holds for now but next phase will be harder
In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is set to release a total of 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, older adults and sick or wounded men, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the hostages to be released in this phase are dead.
Palestinians have cheered the release of the prisoners, who they widely see as heroes who have sacrificed for the cause of ending Israel’s decades-long occupation of lands they want for a future state.
Israeli forces have meanwhile pulled back from most of Gaza, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to return to what remains of their homes and humanitarian groups to surge assistance.
The deal calls for Israel and Hamas to negotiate a second phase in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages and the ceasefire would continue indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.
Israel says it is still committed to destroying Hamas, even after the militant group reasserted its rule over Gaza within hours of the truce. A key far-right partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is already calling for the war to resume after the ceasefire’s first phase.
Hamas says it won’t release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Tens of thousands killed
Hamas started the war when it sent thousands of fighters storming into Israel. The militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250.
Israel’s ensuing air and ground war is among the deadliest and most destructive in decades. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, over half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were militants.
The Israeli military says it killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence, and that it went to great lengths to try to spare civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters operate in dense residential neighbourhoods and put military infrastructure near homes, schools and mosques.
The Israeli offensive has transformed entire neighbourhoods into mounds of grey rubble, and it’s unclear how or when anything will be rebuilt. Around 90 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, often multiple times, with hundreds of thousands of people living in squalid tent camps or shuttered schools.
AP
