Switch the Editor’s Digest free free
Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Four Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas returned to Israel after they were handed over to the Red Cross when the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip went into the second week.
Around 200 Palestinian prisoners who are recorded in Israeli prisons should also be released on Saturday in accordance with the conditions of the agreement that ended for more than 15 months. The ceasefire came into force last Sunday with the release of in force Three Israeli civilians as hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners.
The four soldiers – Liri Albag, 19, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Karina Ariev, 20, and Naama Levy, 20 – were carried out by a military outpost at the border between October 7, 2023, which triggered the conflict on October 7, 2023 Israel and Gaza arrested. Images and videos of their bloody kidnapping were broadcast last year. Their freedom has become a central demand for the hostage of the hostage, which has come together around the families of the people who are still caught in Gaza.
The handover by masked armed Hamas fighters to the Red Cross took place on the Palestine Square in Gaza City, in the middle of a rally of hundreds of uniformed and armed militant and cheering spectators.
The four Israeli women were led across the square and on a small stage, on which a banner with the inscription “Zionism will not win” was attached to Hebrew. After waving the crowd briefly, they were led to the Red Cross vehicles.
The Red Cross drove the four to a transfer point, where they were handed over to Israeli special units and intelligence agents, which they then brought back to Israeli territory.
According to the Israeli military, the four soldiers are at a recording center in Israel, where they undergo medical tests and wait for a reunion with their parents.
The Hamas’s demonstration of power stretched across the entire Gaza Strip, with convoy white pick-ups with armed men and under the green Hamas flag being broadcast in Arab television channels and social media.
The second part of the release of hostages was temporarily considered on Friday evening after Hamas announced the release of four soldiers.
Israeli civil servants claimed that this was a violation of the provisions of the agreement that provides that living civil women – of whom is probably still in captivity – must be released from the soldiers. Nevertheless, the Israeli government decided to continue, and it remains unclear whether the civilian, Arbel Yehud, will be released as part of the exchange next week.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians would not allow to return to the northern Gaza Strip until the matter of their release was “cleared up” – a step that would probably begin later on Saturday.
Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israeli military, said: “We appreciate and thank the efforts of all international intermediaries.” . We expect you to ensure that Hamas adheres to the agreement. ”
Agrees led by the United States secured a six -week ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas this month, the first stage of a complex three -stage agreement that could permanently end the war and ensure the release of the remaining 90 of the Hamas.
Donald Trump had warned that there were “hell to pay” if there would be no agreement on Monday before it was taken on Monday. On Friday the new US president said: “The deal should hold, but if not, there will be many problems.”
According to the conditions of the agreement, the first stage is in the release of 33 Israeli hostages – including children, women, sick and older – in an exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, hundreds of whom are serving long prison terms for terrorism and murder. The publications should take place in weekly installments over the 42 days of the first phase.
During this time, the Israeli troops will withdraw from populated areas in the destroyed area and displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to their homes. Humanitarian aid that comes into the strip has already increased significantly last week.
Up to the 16th day of the first phase, Israel and Hamas are to begin negotiations on details of the second phase, in which the remaining living hostages are released in exchange for other Palestinian prisoners, a further deduction of the Israeli forces from Gaza and a complete liberation of war. The last phase will include the return of the corpses of deceased hostages and the beginning of the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
