Sorrow, elation as Palestinians witness the release of Israeli captives
Al Jazeera
As two Israelis are freed in Gaza’s Khan Younis, Palestinians – many in celebration – gathered to watch the handover.
Khan Younis, Gaza – Since 8am, 32-year-old Abu Yusuf* has been standing in a crowd near the rubble of the former home of Yahya Sinwar, the slain Hamas political and military leader, in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. With his four-year-old son perched on his shoulders, he has been waiting to catch a glimpse of the two Israeli captives set to be released.
Around Abu Yusuf, thousands of people have gathered amid a sea of green Hamas flags and black banners of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. There were also portraits of Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader killed by Israel, images of Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen’s Houthis, and Fathi Shaqaqi, the late founder of the Islamic Jihad.
“I’m proud to see these prisoners released in exchange for countless Palestinians who have remained in Israeli prisons for decades,” said Abu Yusuf.
The releases are part of a high-stakes ceasefire agreement aimed at ending months of war that began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas fighters launched a deadly attack on Israel. Under the deal that took effect on January 19, Hamas is set to release 33 Israeli captives over a six-week period. In return, up to 1,650 Palestinian prisoners could be freed from Israeli jails.
Thursday’s exchange, the third since the ceasefire began, started with Hamas releasing 20-year-old soldier Agam Berger in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, followed by the release of civilians Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses in addition to five Thai nationals in Khan Younis as part of a handover overseen by Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, al-Quds Brigades.
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