GAZA: Israel and Hamas completed their fifth hostage-prisoner swap under a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal on Saturday, with the frail, disoriented appearance of the three freed Israelis sparking dismay among their relatives. Out of the 183 inmates released by Israel in return, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group said seven required hospitalisation, decrying "brutality" and mistreatment in jail. The fifth exchange since the truce took effect last month comes as negotiations are set to begin on the next phase of the ceasefire, which should pave the way for a permanent end to the war.
Saturday's swap also follows remarks by President Donald Trump suggesting the United States should take over the Gaza Strip and clear out its inhabitants, sparking global outrage. Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, who were all seized by Palestinians during October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war, "crossed the border into Israeli territory" on Saturday, the Israeli military said.
With their return, 73 out of 251 hostages taken during the attack now remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. Jubilant crowds in Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv cheered as they watched live footage of the three hostages, flanked by masked gunmen, brought on stage in Deir el-Balah before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The choreographed handover included statements from the three on stage, in which they stated support for finalising the next phases of the Israel-Hamas truce. The "disturbing images" from Gaza show that "we must get them all out", said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose dejected-looking portrait appeared on a banner at the Deir el-Balah handover site, said the images out of Gaza were "shocking".
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, relatives and supporters gathered to welcome inmates released by Israel, embracing them and cheering as they stepped off the bus that brought them from nearby Ofer prison. More than 100 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails on Saturday under a ceasefire deal returned to the Gaza Strip, where they were greeted by cheering crowds, an AFP correspondent reported.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group and the Palestinian Red Crescent said that seven of them had been admitted to hospital in the West Bank. "All the prisoners who were released today are in need of medical care... as a result of the brutality they were subjected" to in jail, said the advocacy group, which has long decried abuses of Palestinians in Israeli custody.
Hamas in a statement accused Israel of "systematic assaults and mistreatment of our prisoners", calling it "part of the policy of... the slow killing of prisoners". Gaza militants have so far freed 21 hostages in exchange for hundreds of mostly Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails. Five Thai hostages freed last week from Gaza were discharged on Saturday from a hospital in central Israel, where they had been treated since their release and were headed back to their home country.
The ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 12 more hostages during its first 42-day phase. Negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government on Friday to stick with the truce, even as Trump's comments raised questions about the future of the deal. — AFP
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