Following the agreement on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, details of the planned exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are emerging. The overview.
According to consistent Israeli media reports, the release of the first hostages from the Gaza Strip to Israel will not take place before Friday. The Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” and the television station N12 cited Israel’s security advisor Tzachi Hanegbi. “The talks about the release of our hostages are progressing and will continue on an ongoing basis,” Hanegbi was quoted as saying on Wednesday evening. The first exchange of hostages kidnapped in Israel for Palestinian prisoners was actually expected on Thursday.
The Times of Israel newspaper quoted Hanegbi as saying: “The release will begin in accordance with the original agreement between the parties, and not before Friday.” According to the newspaper, an Israeli official explained the delay by saying that, contrary to the Israeli side’s previous belief, both Israel and the Islamist Hamas would have to sign a document ratifying the agreement for it to come into force.
The document will hopefully be signed within the next 24 hours so that the first hostages can be released on Friday, the official said. The Jerusalem Post newspaper spoke of a “last-minute complication.”
Hamas had declared the day before that the agreed break in fighting should begin on Thursday at 10 a.m. local time (9 a.m. CET). Both sides had agreed on a maximum ten-day ceasefire in Israel and the sealed-off Gaza Strip. Part of the agreement is an exchange of up to 100 hostages from Israel for up to 300 Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons.
All hostages are said to be Israelis or residents of Israel
The Israeli news site Ynet reported that under the agreement, Israel would be allowed to provide Hamas with the names of the 100 hostages to be released. Part of the deal should also be that abducted mothers and children are not separated from each other upon release. According to the government decision, all hostages should have Israeli citizenship or be residents of Israel. It is unclear whether dual nationals with a German passport could also be included.
Israel gives details of prisoners released in Gaza deal
Israel announced on Wednesday the names and details of the detained Palestinians eligible for release. 123 of the 300 prisoners are young people under the age of 18. The youngest are only 14 years old. According to the list, 33 prisoners are girls and women. They are accused of, among other things, throwing firebombs, arson or knife attacks.
Israeli media had previously reported that no prisoners serving time for murder would be released. They should therefore return to the places where they lived before their imprisonment, such as the West Bank or East Jerusalem.
According to media reports, the publication of details about the Palestinian detainees is intended to give the public the opportunity to appeal to the Supreme Court against the release of certain individuals. According to an Israeli government spokesman, relatives of terror victims, among others, could do this within 24 hours. However, the court is not expected to take action against the government’s decision.
Israel: Army has destroyed around 400 tunnel shafts in Gaza
The Israeli armed forces again attacked targets of the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the Gaza war began on October 7, soldiers have destroyed around 400 tunnel shafts in the Gaza Strip, the military said on Wednesday. Many of the Islamist Hamas tunnels were under civilian hospitals, schools and houses.
According to Israeli information, there is a network of underground tunnels in the sandy soil of the Gaza Strip, which is around 45 kilometers long and around six to 14 kilometers wide and has more than two million inhabitants. The Islamist Hamas violently seized power in the coastal area in 2007. She wants to destroy the state of Israel.
Army: Terrorists killed in army operation in West Bank
Six Palestinians were killed in an anti-terror operation by the Israeli army in the northern West Bank. This was announced by the Ministry of Health in Ramallah and the Israeli army. According to the army, these included four leading terrorists who were involved in a large number of attacks on Israeli sites and soldiers in the Tulkarem area. The military also described the other two dead as terrorists.
According to the army, Israeli security forces were in Tulkarem on an anti-terrorism mission when several people threw explosive devices at soldiers and fired at them. A drone then shot at the suspects and hit them, the military said.
Since the massacres by terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other groups on October 7, the security situation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has deteriorated massively. Since then, 216 Palestinians have been killed in confrontations with Israeli soldiers, as well as attacks by Israeli settlers, according to the Ministry of Health.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
