The seven hostages released in Khan Younis, Gaza have arrived in Israel on Thursday, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), meaning all eight hostages released Thursday are now in Israel.
A statement from the IDF said the seven returning hostages are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel.
“The two returning Israeli hostages, Arbel Yehud and Gad Moshe Mozes, will be reunited with their families there” along with five Thai nationals, the IDF said.
Earlier Thursday, Israeli soldier Agam Berger was released from another location in Gaza and has since been reunited with her family.
A total of 15 hostages have now been set free since the start of the ceasefire-hostage deal that went into effect on Jan. 19. A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released over several weeks during the first phase of the deal.
Netanyahu’s anger
After watching hectic scenes surrounding the release of two Israeli hostages and five Thai citizens in southern Gaza, the Israeli government has passed a message to the mediators of the hostage deal that the images from Khan Younis were “not acceptable”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “I view with great severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages. This is yet another proof of the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas terror organization.”
“I demand that the mediators ensure that such horrific scenes do not recur and guarantee the safety of our hostages.”
Four Red Cross vehicles were at the venue for more than an hour as crowds converged on the scene. The hostages were transferred in batches to the Red Cross vehicles by masked militants with rifles – before the Red Cross convoy left the area soon after 1 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET).
The confusion was in marked contrast to previous releases last Saturday, which were carried out amid tighter security, with crowds kept behind a cordon, and to the release earlier Thursday of an Israeli soldier, Agam Berger, in another part of Gaza.
The Palestinian prisoners release
The Times of Israel is reported that Israel has halted the release of Palestinian security prisoners set to be freed in a protest against the scenes of chaos surrounding the release of Arbel Yehoud, Gadi Moses, and five Thai nationals.
The report says the prisoners were on the buses ready to be released when they ordered off.Israel is expected to release 110 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday as part of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal.
Under that deal, Israel agreed to release:
– 30 prisoners for each freed hostage who is a child, civilian woman or civilian man over the age of 50
– 50 prisoners for each female soldier
– 110 prisoners for each injured or sick hostage
The Hamas Prisoner Media Office said it expected the 110 released on Thursday to include 30 children, 32 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and 48 prisoners with high sentences.
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 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 are widely seen by Palestinians 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..
Source: AP
