After a delay, Hamas releases a second set of Israeli and international captives

 After a delay, Hamas releases a second set of Israeli and international captives

Red Cross busses transporting the prisoners left Ofer prison, outside the West Bank city of Ramallah, and headed for the al-Bireh municipality, according to confirmation from the Palestinian Authority's Prisoner Affairs Commission."

 

Two mediators have succeeded in breaking the deadlock between Israel and Hamas, according to Qatar, which assisted in mediating the agreement with Egypt.

Israel finally verified that Hamas had turned over 13 Israelis, including five women and eight children, to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza. According to Israeli authorities, they were brought to Israel in a convoy that crossed the Rafah border into Egypt, after which they were sent to hospitals in Israel. Additionally, four Thai nationals were set free.

Israel freed 39 Palestinian inmates in a few hours, the country's prison service said early on Sunday. There was a similar conversation on Friday.

The prisoners were transported to al-Bireh municipality by Red Cross busses that left Ofer jail, which is located outside of the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to confirmation from the Palestinian Authority's Prisoner Affairs Commission.

After a stressful day in which it seemed as if the precarious temporary ceasefire deal may collapse, the arrangement was resumed late on Saturday.

A second exchange of prisoners for hostages had been threatened by Hamas, who claimed Israel had broken important terms of the deal. According to the armed group in charge of Gaza, Israel has not freed Palestinian inmates in accordance with agreed-upon conditions and has not let adequate supplies to reach northern Gaza.

Osama Hamdan, a representative of Hamas, accused Israel on Saturday night during a press conference in Lebanon of "messing with the names" of prisoners who were about to be freed and Gazans who were attempting to go back to their homes. Israeli troops were criticized for reportedly opening fire on Friday in the northern Gaza region. The group stayed silent on other specifics.

Since the settlement has never been made public, it is challenging to confirm these accusations.

Israel said that the four-day truce will expire early if Hamas did not release a second set of captives, while simultaneously denying having violated any of the provisions of the agreement. An Israeli military spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, said, "We stand by our part of the outline."

Later, on Saturday night, Hamas abruptly said on its official Telegram channel that it will free the prisoners upon the passage of "all the conditions described in the agreement" by Egypt and Qatar, along with Israel's commitment.

According to national security spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, President Joe Biden had direct conversations about possible roadblocks to the agreement and ways to overcome them with the prime minister and emir of Qatar on Saturday morning after being updated on its progress. of the council.

This short cease-fire, which went into effect on Friday at 7 a.m. local time, is the longest break in the 50-day battle that started on October 7, when an estimated 1,200 people were murdered in an offensive spearheaded by Hamas on southern Israel. Israeli authorities said that around 240 individuals had been abducted.

According to representatives from both sides, the agreement called for Israel to free 150 Palestinian prisoners from its jails and for Hamas to release at least 50 Israeli women and children who had been kept captive in Gaza for the four days. will free girls and women. Apart from the thirteen Israeli captives that Hamas released on Friday, Israel also released thirty-nine Palestinian inmates. One Filipino and ten Thai nationals were also set free.

Both sides have said that the deal involves additional assistance delivery to Gaza, where there is a critical scarcity of food and fuel due to the conflict, in addition to the exchange of detainees, even if the full details of the agreement have not been made public. There isn't enough of it.

It was anticipated that the supplies will reach both the northern Gaza, where Israel has fully taken over and where the few Hamas forces are under intense strain, and the southern Gaza, which is still under Hamas control.