GAZA STRIP – Hamas will release six hostages this week and Israel will allow Gazans to return to homes in the north, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says.
The hostages include Arbel Yehud – the civilian at the center of a row which has led to Israel delaying the return of Gazans to northern Gaza.
Hamas released four soldiers on Saturday, but not Yehud.
Israel accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire deal under which Israeli civilians were to be freed first in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Since the ceasefire deal came into force, seven hostages and just under 300 prisoners have been released.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians attempting to reach northern Gaza have gathered at the military barrier blocking their progress for two days.
The ceasefire and hostage and prisoner release deal came into force on 19 January. Two exchanges have been completed.
In the third, Hamas will release Yehud and two other hostages on Thursday, followed by three more on Saturday, Netanyahu and Qatar, which has mediated the talks, said.
Israel will begin to allow Palestinians to move north on Monday, as well as freeing more Palestinian prisoners later in the week.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Palestinians had been scheduled to be allowed to travel north of the Netzarim Corridor, a seven-kilometer strip of land controlled by Israel that cuts off north Gaza from the rest of the territory, on Saturday.
Images show massive crowds waiting to pass.
“We’re sleeping in the streets,” Nireem Musabeh told the BBC at the checkpoint on Sunday. “We can’t go home and every time we try to go home they shoot at us.”
Qatari and Egyptian mediators who have facilitated talks between Israel and Hamas were involved in the efforts to end the dispute. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman announced the breakthrough moments before Israel’s prime minister.
Israel had asked the mediators for proof from Hamas that Yehud was alive. It appeared that had been given to the Egyptians as early as Saturday evening, the BBC understands.
Earlier on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said he wanted Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinians from Gaza, which he described as a “demolition site”.
Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority condemned the idea, while Jordan and Egypt have also rejected the proposal.
The January ceasefire deal halted the war which began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages.
More than 47,200 Palestinians, the majority civilians, have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says. (BBC)
