Israel threatened this morning to suspend the release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners, following the chaotic handover of eight hostages held by Hamas. Three of the released were Israelis and five were Thai captives.
PUBLICIDAD
This is the third exchange of this kind since a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip earlier this month.
PUBLICIDAD
The ceasefire aims to end the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, whose attack on October 7, 2023 against Israel triggered the fighting. The ceasefire has held despite a dispute earlier this week over the order of releasing hostages.
How was the hostage release by Hamas?
Hamas handed over the Israeli soldier Agam Berger, 20 years old, to the Red Cross in a ceremony in the devastated urban refugee camp of Jabaliya in northern Gaza. Berger was kidnapped along with four other female soldiers who were released on Saturday.
However, in the southern city of Jan Yunis, in front of the destroyed house of the slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. According to information from the New York Times, the militants had to make their way through the excited crowd, with the hostages moving through the chaos towards the Red Cross convoy. In one of the images, Arbel Yehoud, 29 years old, one of the last surviving female hostages, was seen terrified as she remained surrounded by armed Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters. Next to her, Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man, was released.
At the moment, the identities of the Thai citizens who will be released were not known.
Israel said that Yehoud should have been released on Saturday and delayed the opening of the crossings to the north of Gaza when that did not happen.
Why did Israel question the delivery of the prisoners?
Faced with the images of chaos with the hostages in Jan Yunis, the office of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that he had suspended the release of prisoners and demanded guarantees from the ceasefire mediators (United States, Qatar, and Egypt) on the part of Hamas regarding the safety of the hostages for future releases.
After receiving assurances from mediators, the Israeli government was expected to release over 100 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday afternoon, as reported by Haaretz.