The release of 13 Israelis and seven foreigners who were taken prisoner in a massive attack on Israel last month is made possible by Hamas‘ announcement on Saturday that the hostages-for-prisoners exchange, which it had put on hold for several hours, is now back on track.
After the Palestinian militant group withdrew from the exchange agreement and claimed that Israel had broken the terms of a temporary cease-fire agreement, there were hours of uncertainty before the abrupt reversal.
Following that, Hamas said in a social media statement that it was resuming the exchange after Egypt and Qatar, through mediation, “conveyed the occupation’s (Israel’s) dedication to all the conditions stated in the agreement.”
Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages during its attack on October 7. The release of Palestinian detainees and Israeli hostages was covered by the cease-fire agreement that was declared earlier this week. However, Hamas captured several foreign workers, including Thai farm laborers, during its attack.
A spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry announced on X (previously known as Twitter) that 39 Palestinians would be freed in return for 13 Israelis, “plus 7 foreigners outside the agreement’s framework.”
On Friday, the first day of the cease-fire, the militant Palestinian group also unexpectedly released 10 Thais and one Filipino in addition to 13 Israelis. 39 Palestinians were freed by Israel.
Senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan stated to a Beirut-based satellite news channel that one point of contention and the cause of the delay was the amount of aid that Israel was permitting into northern Gaza. This disagreement was the catalyst for the resolution, which was on and off until Saturday. He added, “Israel’s firing on Palestinians”—ostensibly alluding to an incident on Friday in which Hamas claims Israeli soldiers killed two people and injured thirty others.
The Israeli military has refused to comment on the shooting on several occasions. However, an Israeli official stated to NPR that “Israel wasn’t breaking the agreement.” The Israeli prime minister’s office declined to comment immediately.
“Who knows if they’re going to ever get out?”
Earlier on Saturday, there was a somber yet cautiously upbeat vibe regarding the upcoming release of captives in central Tel Aviv’s “hostages square,” a plaza that has come to be known as a meeting spot for relatives and supporters of those detained by Hamas.
Yossi Vikovzky, 68, is one of the founding members of the Nahal Oz kibbutz, the scene of last month’s massacre by Hamas militants that claimed many lives. He says he knows two of the hostages who are being held, as reported by NPR.
“To be honest, I think everyone here feels,” Vikovzky remarked. “I’m conflicted. I’m ecstatic for everyone who leaves Gaza, but who knows if those who don’t leave now will ever leave?”
Hanna Katzir, who was claimed to have died in an Israeli airstrike by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militia group that also participated in the assault on Israel last month, is one of the Israelis who gained freedom on Friday. Eight members of three different families—including four small children—were among the other Israelis released. Katzir is among the five captives in their seventies, while the oldest is eighty-five.
The liberated hostages were in good physical condition, according to hospital officials.
There were scenes of joy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday as Palestinian prisoners were released and returned to their families, freeing the Israeli hostages. In the center of Ramallah, a sizable gathering of people gathered, waving the green flag of the militant group and chanting pro-Hamas slogans.
If Hamas continues to release hostages at the agreed-upon ratio of one Israel for every three Palestinians, Israel has threatened to extend the temporary truce by up to ten days. On Saturday, the Egyptian government’s official news agency stated that negotiations were underway to “extend the truce period that exists between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, for a day or so,” and that Egyptian officials were in contact with relevant parties.
Israel’s military has sworn that if the agreement falls through or expires, it will fight again. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the military chief of staff, declared on Saturday that “we will return swiftly to our operations and offensive in Gaza at the end of the operational pause.”
The most recent statistics from Gaza’s health ministry show that since the conflict began, there have been close to 15,000 Palestinian deaths and over 30,000 injuries.
Authorities claim that not enough food aid is being delivered.
After weeks of bombardment by Israeli warplanes and ground forces, the ceasefire in Gaza has allowed much-needed food, fuel, and other supplies to reach the besieged territory controlled by Hamas. Israel is determined to destroy Hamas. UNRWA, the U.N. relief organization in charge of Palestinians, reports that almost half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced to flee their homes due to the fighting.
The half a million Gazans who reside in the northern half of the territory, including Gaza City, were forewarned by Israel’s military last month to relocate southward or face possible death during Israeli military operations.
According to the United Nations World Food Program, it has been providing food assistance to over 700,000 people on a daily basis. But it’s insufficient. The only thing keeping people alive is humanitarian aid as food systems collapse. It needs to be sustained and scaled up, the WFP stated in a post on X.
According to a spokesman for Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), 200 trucks from Egypt entered Gaza on Saturday with humanitarian aid. It stated that food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment were being transported by the trucks.
More than fifty trucks carrying humanitarian supplies were sent by the UN to the northern Gaza Strip and to shelters that have not yet been evacuated. Through the evacuation corridor, this deployment is being carried out with Israeli approval, according to COGAT.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, it was possible to transport relief supplies to Gaza City and the North Gaza Governorate via convoy. It claimed that this aid delivery was the biggest since the start of the conflict.
Friday saw the same amount of trucks sent to Gaza, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
General General Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner of UNRWA, stated during his second visit to Gaza that the organization is prepared to receive over 150 trucks of aid per day.
“It is time to get rid of bureaucratic hurdles and restrictions on UNRWA in order that we can expand & accelerate the distribution of much-needed help to more than two million people,” stated Lazzarini.