Gaza, Jan 26 (IANS) Gaza saw the second hostage swap as Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners, a part of a six-week ceasefire starting January 19.
Earlier Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency confirmed that four female Israeli soldiers held in Gaza had returned to Israel after being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a neutral intermediary that ensured the smooth and secure implementation of the exchange.
The hostages embraced tightly their parents in tears of joy, a video released by the IDF showed.
However, not all Palestinian hostages would arrive home on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Shortly after, the Israel Prison Service announced that all 200 Palestinian prisoners set to be released had been freed. Most were sent to the West Bank with around 70 of them deported to Egypt through the Rafah crossing, according to Palestinian sources and Egyptian media.
Israel said it would not allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza until Arbel Yehuda, another female civilian hostage, had been freed.
Yehuda was also due to be released on Saturday alongside three other female soldiers, but she was somehow excluded from the release.
Yehuda was “alive and in good health” and would be “released as part of the third swap set for next Saturday,” Hamas sources was quoted by local Palestinian media as saying.
This delay prompted Israel to block thousands of Palestinians, who had gathered along Al-Rasheed Street after being displaced during over 15 months of conflict, from returning to their homes in the north.
Israeli forces shot dead a young Palestinian and wounded others on Saturday as they attempted to return to their homes in central Gaza, Palestinian medical sources told Xinhua.
One person was killed and another injured near the entrance to Al-Bureij refugee camp, Al-Awda Hospital in Al-Nuseirat refugee camp said in a statement.
Two other youths were wounded west of Al-Nuseirat camp by Israeli gunfire targeting gatherings of citizens hoping to return to northern Gaza, the hospital added.
The Israeli military said the ban on approaching the Nitzarim Corridor, which divides southern and northern Gaza and was established by the Israeli military at the start of its ground operation on October 27, 2023, would remain in place until its official reopening to prevent clashes.
Hamas on Saturday accused Israel of delaying the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, warning that such actions could jeopardise the next phases of the deal.
“The occupation continues to delay the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the prisoner exchange by keeping Al-Rasheed Street closed and preventing displaced people from returning on foot from the south to the north,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
The ICRC voiced hope that the ongoing dialogue between the parties and their continuous humanitarian commitments will create the necessary conditions for the safe execution of future operations.
–IANS
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