The handover of three Israeli captives and five Thai nationals to the Red Cross began today in Gaza following the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, marking the third batch of captives to be handed over since the ceasefire took effect on January In accordance with the terms of the deal, the Israeli captives were exchanged for over Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, including those sentenced to life in prison or serving long sentences.
The handover took place today in two different locations β in Jabalia in north Gaza, and Khan Younis in the south. In Jabalia, Agam Berger was given over to the Red Cross while wearing a military uniform, signifying her as one of the soldiers taken by Palestinian factions on October 7. The handover took place amid the rubble of Jabalia, which was subjected to a months-long siege and campaign of ethnic cleansing , resulting in the leveling of the entire area since early October Throngs of people were gathered around armed members of the Hamas military wing, the Qassam Brigades, cheering on and chanting in support of the resistance as the Red Cross took Berger into custody.
The people are rallying around the resistance in a message that all this war will not prevent our people from standing with the resistance, in both word and deed. According to the terms of the ceasefire agreement, for every military captive released by the resistance factions in the Gaza Strip, 50 Palestinian prisoners with long sentences or life sentences will be released, while for every civilian Israeli captive, 30 prisoners will be released.
Video footage obtained by Mondoweiss showed heavy crowding around Israeli prisoner Arbel Yehuda as she was being led from the detention vehicle to Red Cross vehicles by armed Palestinian fighters. Five Thai nationals who were taken on October 7 were also handed over to the Red Cross, bringing the total number of released captives today to 8.
Media reports described Israeli dissatisfaction with the way in which the prisoner exchange was conducted, including the crowding and the military parade in Khan Younis. Israeli media sources initially reported the suspension of the handover of Palestinian prisoners, due to be released later in the day, citing the chaos and crowding as a threat to the safety of the Israeli hostages, despite the fact that the Red Cross received all the captives in good condition.
