Hamas releases 3 Israeli hostages, Israel says 2nd phase truce talks start Monday

Source
CGTN
Editor
Li Weichao
Time
2025-02-02 15:35:42

Fighters of the Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, stand guard as Israeli hostages get delivered to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza, February 1, 2025. /VCG

Hamas on Saturday released three Israeli hostages in the fourth batch of the first phase of the prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal. In return, Israel freed 183 Palestinian detainees and allowed 50 wounded and sick Palestinians to leave Gaza for medical treatment abroad.

The handover of hostages took place in two locations: Khan Younis in southern Gaza and Gaza City in the north.

Hamas' armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, transferred 65-year-old Keith Shmonsel Segal, an Israeli-American citizen, to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza.

Segal, dressed in dark clothing and carrying two envelopes containing gifts for him and his wife, waved to onlookers before being escorted to Israel.

American-Israeli Keith Shmonsel Segal arrives at the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel, with the Israeli flag draped across his shoulders, February 1, 2025. /VCG

Earlier in the day, Al-Qassam fighters led Ofer Calderon, an Israeli-French citizen, and Yarden Bibas to a platform built on the ruins of a destroyed house, where images of Hamas leaders were displayed.

They were then handed over individually to the ICRC representatives.

The process unfolded under strict organizational control, accompanied by a military parade of armed Hamas militants.

Unlike the chaotic scenes of previous releases, the exchange was tightly managed, with heavily armed men securing the area to prevent a repeat of the large crowds that had gathered during the last transfer.

The release is part of a broader ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States on January 15.

Under the deal, the first phase, lasting 42 days, will see 33 Israeli hostages freed in exchange for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners.

In return, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners.

According to Palestinian sources, 150 prisoners were transferred to Gaza, including those serving life and long-term sentences, while 32 others were sent to the West Bank.

An additional Egyptian detainee was also freed, according to Palestinian sources.

West Bank prisoners were freed from Ofer Prison near Ramallah, while those from Gaza were transferred from Ketziot Prison in the Negev to the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Seven of the released detainees are set to be deported.

Meanwhile, for the first time in eight months, 50 wounded Palestinians and patients were allowed to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing for treatment in Egypt under the supervision of the World Health Organization (WHO).

On Saturday, Egypt announced the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which had been closed since May 2024 when Israel took control of the Palestinian side.

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip wait inside an ambulance before crossing the Rafah border into Egypt, February 1, 2025. /VCG

Second phase of negotiations to commence soon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will start negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire when he meets with U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Monday in Washington, D.C., Netanyahu's office said late on Saturday.

Netanyahu is scheduled to depart Israel on Sunday for Washington, D.C., where he is to meet next week with Trump at the White House to discuss Gaza and the Israeli hostages held there.

During his meeting with Witkoff, Netanyahu will discuss Israel's positions regarding the ceasefire, the prime minister's office said. Witkoff will then speak with officials from Egypt and Qatar, who have mediated between Israel and Hamas over the past 15 months with backing from Washington.

Thirty-three children, women, and older male hostages, as well as the sick and injured, are due to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire, with more than 60 men of military age left for the second phase, which must still be worked out.

Sixty-four bodies retrieved in Gaza

Gaza's Civil Defense said on Saturday that it had recovered 64 bodies from the Gaza Strip while warning of the dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave.

In a press statement, the Civil Defense announced that 37 bodies were retrieved from northern Gaza.

According to the statement, Israeli forces had used bulldozers to relocate bodies from various burial sites around Kamal Adwan Hospital, gathering them in open areas. Civil Defense teams later reburied them in Beit Lahia Cemetery.

Meanwhile, the Gaza health authorities have reported that 27 bodies arrived at hospitals in the past 24 hours.

This brings the total death toll from the Israeli offensive to 47,487, with 111,588 injured since October 7, 2023, according to the health authorities.

Many of the dead were trapped under rubble and in the streets, where emergency and Civil Defense teams were unable to reach them, said the authorities.

In a separate statement, the Civil Defense warned that Gaza residents are facing an extremely dire humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands left homeless without shelter or necessities for survival.

The statement noted that the region is expected to face multiple storms, posing a severe threat to hundreds of thousands of people living in tents and structurally unsafe buildings.

In addition, large amounts of unexploded ordinance and other remnants of Israeli military operations remain scattered in the streets and beneath the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings, endangering civilians.

The Civil Defense urged the international community and human rights organizations to take immediate action to save lives before it is too late.

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