Palestinian Territories:
A fragile truce aimed at ending the war in Gaza entered its second week on Sunday, after four Israeli hostages and about 200 Palestinian prisoners were released to jubilant scenes.
While Israel and Hamas completed their second hostage-taking swap under a ceasefire deal on Saturday, a last-minute dispute blocked the expected return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to the ravaged north of the Gaza Strip.
Israel announced it would block Palestinians’ passage to the north until a civilian woman held hostage, who the Prime Minister’s Office said was “supposed to be released on Saturday”, called for Walk Free on Saturday.
A Hamas source told AFP that the woman, Arbel Yehud, “will be released as part of a third swap set for next Saturday”.
The dispute highlighted concerns over the next steps of the three-phase truce deal, which took effect on January 19.
The second phase of the deal aims to see negotiations for a permanent end to the war, but analysts have warned it risks collapsing due to the multi-stage nature of the deal and the deep mistrust between Israel and Hamas.
During the first six-week phase, 33 hostages are to be freed in a staggered release in exchange for approximately 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
A total of seven hostages and 289 Palestinians have so far been released under the deal, along with one Jordanian prisoner freed by Israel.
waiting to return home
In Gaza, Palestinian police prevented hundreds of displaced people from reaching the Israeli-controlled route to the north, where Israeli tanks and armored vehicles were blocking the road.
Rafik Sabh, waiting to return to Beit Lahiya, said: “We want to go back, even if our homes are destroyed. We miss our homes very much.”
Suh said she would look forward to going back to the north “even if we have to sleep out of sight”.
Avichay Edrai, an Arabic-language spokesman for the Israeli military, said Gazans were not allowed to approach the Netzerim corridor, through which they must pass to reach their homes in the north, “until it is declared open.” Is”.
“These directives will remain in effect” until further notice and “Hamas fulfills its commitments”, Adrai said, adding Israel claimed Hamas was in breach of the agreement by not handing over Yehud.
Among those who tried to return on Saturday was Samia Hales, 26, of Gaza City.
“Till now, I don’t know whether my house is still standing or destroyed. I don’t know whether my mother is alive or dead. I have not been able to contact her for a month,” she said.
The truce has brought food, fuel, medicines, and other aid into debris-strewn Gaza, but the UN says “the humanitarian situation remains grave”.
‘To the last mortgage’
The four hostages released on Saturday, all female soldiers, were reunited with their families and taken to hospital, where a doctor said they were in a stable condition.
Of the 251 hostages captured during Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war, 87 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.
Some Israelis feared for the fate of the remaining hostages, saying far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition opposed the ceasefire.
Hours after Saturday’s hostage release, thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, as they have done weekly throughout the war, to pressure authorities to secure the release of the hostages.
An AFP correspondent said protesters chanted in support of the return of all remaining hostages, including those not slated for release during the first phase of the truce.
“Families cannot breathe. We are under immense stress … We will do everything, we will fight to the end, until the last hostage” is returned, said Ifat Calderon, whose cousin still lives in Gaza. Has been organized.
Efrat Macchikwa, niece of hostage Gadi Mozes, said that “Our hearts are full of joy for the four hostages who have been returned to us today, but we are deeply concerned for our loved ones who are still held in terrorist captivity.”
The October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 47,283 people in Gaza, according to data from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
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