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Hamas released three Israeli captivity men in Gaza on Saturday before an expected exchange for Palestinian prisoners later in the day while the increasingly fragile ceasefire maintained its third week.
The men were handed over to the International Red Cross Committee at a carefully organized ceremony in Deir Al-Balah, a relatively intact section of the Gaza Strip.
They had been taken hostage from their homes and a music festival during the assault of the Palestinian militant group against Israel on October 7, 2023 in which around 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli officials.
Ohad Ben Ami, 56, or Levy, 34, and Eli Sharabi, 52 appeared pale and thin while Hamas defeated them on stage alongside his strongly armed fighters.
“The shocking images that we have seen today will not be untreated,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to their physical condition, which was clearly worse than those published in previous swaps.
Shortly after, Israel began the publication process of 180 Palestinian prisoners, as required by the terms of the ceasefire. The vast majority were held without trials in Israeli prisons. Less than two dozen of them have served perpetuity sentences after being found guilty of attacks against the Israelis.
During 15 months of the War of Israel in Gaza, nearly 48,000 people were killed in the besieged band, according to local officials.
Despite the last exchange, the framework of the ceasefire is increasingly subject to operational hiccups and public statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who stressed his reluctance to end the war, as well as the announcement Surprise by US President Donald Trump this week that he wanted the president of US President Donald Trump to wanted the week for us to take control of the enclave.
Friday, Hamas delayed the confirmation that the exchange would take place on time – as required by the cease -fire agreement – after complaining that Israel had not authorized tens of thousands of thousands of thousands tents and mobile houses in Gaza.
The entry of these humanitarian supplies is required by the ceasefire agreement, a person familiar with the details said, although it is not clear when the delivery was supposed to arrive.
The need for shelter has become more and more urgent this week while winter storms hit the coastal enclave. About 2 million people have been moved there and live in tentacular cities of tents and the ruins of their neighborhoods.
The future of the ceasefire was also questioned by Netanyahu’s commitment earlier this week to resume war with Hamas, after being informed that Donald Trump favored the displacement of the entire Palestinian population of the Gaza strip.
Trump’s proposal, which would be illegal under international law and has aroused broad induction in the Middle East Arab world. “
The ceasefire in three stages is currently in transition between the first and second phases, during which the negotiations to put an end to the war are supposed to take place.
During the first six -week period, Hamas was to release 33 Israeli hostages, including all children, women and men over 50. On Saturday, he released 21. This six -week period ended in the first week of March.
The group initially took around 250 people hostage on October 7, 2023. It released around 120 during a short ceasefire in November 2023 in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Many remaining hostages are considered dead.
Last week, Hamas also published five Thai agricultural workers who were caught in captivity during the cross -border raid which sparked the war.
Hamas will begin to release the male soldiers which it has taken in captivity and to put the bodies of dead hostages only if the negotiations succeed in converting the temporary ceasefire into a permanent truce. This would oblige Israel to withdraw its Gaza forces.
These talks were to start this week, but Israel has not yet invaded high-level teams in Qatar or Egypt, who meditate on the agreement alongside the United States.
If Netanyahu ends the war, he risks the collapse of his coalition from right to power, which includes a far -right political party.
Their requests include continuous combat operations, a permanent reoccupation of the Gaza Strip and the expulsion of its Palestinian population, which argues with Trump’s proposal.
Hamas rejected these plans, which were also condemned by the United States Arab and European allies.
