Gaza Strip : Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday in return for Hamas' release of 13 Israelis and four foreigners in the second round of swaps under a ceasefire deal, reports said. The militant group initially delayed the exchange for several hours and claimed that Israel had violated the terms of a truce deal. This exposed the fragility of Qatar-mediated cease-fire in Gaza.
A bus carrying nearly three dozen Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank early Sunday. Hundreds of people greeted the International Committee of the Red Cross bus as it arrived in Al Bireh.
The Israeli military said the released hostages, including four Thais, had been transferred to Israel. They were being taken to hospitals for observation and to be reunited with their families. Hamas released a video showing the hostages appearing shaken but mostly in good physical condition as masked militants led them to Red Cross vehicles headed out of Gaza. Some of the hostages waved goodbye to the militants as they headed out of the besieged enclave.
Nurhan Awad received a hero's welcome by hundreds of people at the Qalandia refugee camp near Jerusalem when she arrived shortly after her release. The woman was 17 in 2016 when she was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in jail for attempting to stab an Israeli soldier with a pair of scissors. Released Palestinian woman Shurouq Duwiyat arrived at her home in Jerusalem where joyous family members hugged and kissed her.
"We send a message to our people in Gaza that we stand by your side and support you," Duwiyat told reporters inside her home. Also in Jerusalem, Israeli troops evicted journalists who gathered outside the home of Israa Jaabis, who had been imprisoned since 2015 after being convicted of carrying out separate attacks on Israelis.
Hundreds of Palestinians waited in the West Bank town of Beitunia for the arrival of additional prisoners. The Israeli hostages released on Saturday by Hamas included seven children and six women, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced. Most of the released hostages were from Kibbutz Be'eri, a community Hamas militants ravaged during their October 7 cross-border attack, a spokesperson for the kibbutz said. The children ranged in age from three to 16, and the women ranged from 18 to 67.
It was a bittersweet moment for the residents of Be'eri. A kibbutz spokesperson said all the released hostages either had a family member killed in the October 7 rampage or had left a loved one in captivity in Gaza. The mother of one of the released hostages, 12-year-old Hila Rotem, remained in captivity, the spokesperson said.
Another, Emily Hand, is a girl whose father believed her to be dead for weeks before finding out she was held as a hostage. Residents of the kibbutz have been staying together at a Dead Sea hotel since the October 7 attack. A large crowd gathered in a function room at the hotel late Saturday, cheering in excitement as they saw the first images of their loved ones being released.
One classmate of 18-year-old Noga Weiss said there was great excitement about her release. "I was very nervous when I heard about the delay. I thought something would happen," the classmate, identified as Zohar, told Channel 13 TV. "It was a great relief when I saw her."
The last-minute delay had created a tense standoff on the second day of what's meant to be a four-day ceasefire. By nightfall, as the hostages should have emerged from Gaza, Hamas alleged that the aid deliveries permitted by Israel fell short of what was promised and that not enough of it was reaching northern Gaza -- the focus of Israel's ground offensive and main combat zone. Hamas also said not enough veteran prisoners were freed in the first swap on Friday.
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