Released Palestinian prisoners arrive in West Bank
Buses carrying Palestinian prisoners being released by Israel as part of the ceasefire agreement have arrived in Ramallah in the West Bank, Reuters reports.
The Associated Press also reports that a line of white buses carrying prisoners earlier left Ofer Prison, a facility run by Israel in the occupied West Bank.
Key events
As we’ve been reporting, three Israeli and five Thai hostages were released today after spending more than a year being held hostage in Gaza.
Pictures show them being welcomed and reuniting with family members after their arrival in Israel.
Released Palestinian prisoners arrive in West Bank
Buses carrying Palestinian prisoners being released by Israel as part of the ceasefire agreement have arrived in Ramallah in the West Bank, Reuters reports.
The Associated Press also reports that a line of white buses carrying prisoners earlier left Ofer Prison, a facility run by Israel in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli military confirms 10 Palestinians killed in West Bank strike
Israel’s military confirmed on Thursday that it had killed 10 Palestinians in a strike on a village in the occupied West Bank the day before, saying it had targeted militants, reports Agence France- Presse (AFP).
During a joint “counter-terrorism” operation by the military and domestic security agency, an air force “aircraft struck a gathering of armed terrorists in the area of Tamun” late Wednesday, the military said in a statement.
“Approximately 10 terrorists were eliminated in the strike,” it said, adding two of the militants killed were involved in an attack that killed an Israeli soldier and injured three others in Tamun on 20 January. The army said the two had also been “involved in additional shooting and explosives attacks”.
On Wednesday night, the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said an Israeli drone strike had killed at least 10 people, while the military said at the time that it had struck an “armed cell”.
Peter Beaumont
As expected, the latest crisis in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, which had seen the announced delay in releasing Palestinians from Israeli jails, has turned out to be more performative than substantial.
With the exchange expected to be completed later today Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has put out this statement:
Pursuant to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand, the mediators have conveyed a commitment, according to which the safe exit of our hostages who are due to be released in the next phases has been assured.
Israel insists that the lessons be learned and that strict care be taken in the next phases regarding the safe return of our hostages.”
At issue were the chaotic scenes during today’s release of Israelis, in turn stage-managed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad for their own audience.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that the death toll from the war with Israel had reached 47,460, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Despite a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that began on 19 January, the death toll published by Gaza’s ministry of health continues to rise every day as bodies discovered under the rubble are identified or people succumb to earlier injuries, reports AFP.
In the last 24 hours, 43 additional deaths have been recorded, according to the ministry, which reported 111,580 injured from the war.
Israel has regularly questioned the credibility of the ministry’s figures, but they are considered reliable by the United Nations.
A study published in early January in the medical journal, the Lancet, estimated that the death toll in the Gaza Strip due to hostilities during the first nine months of the conflict was about 40% higher than the figures recorded by the Gaza ministry of health.
AFP and the Guardian are unable to independently verify the conflict’s death toll.
Turkey’s spy agency aided release of Thai prisoners in Gaza – report
Turkey’s spy agency helped secure the release of five Thai prisoners held by Hamas on Thursday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel, state media reported.
Thirty-one Thai nationals were among the dozens abducted when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, with 23 released by the end of that year and two confirmed dead in May.
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) negotiated with Hamas after instructions from president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and secured the release of five Thai hostages in Gaza on Thursday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports, citing the Anadolu news agency reported.
In mid-January, Erdoğan said his country hoped for a “lasting peace” in Gaza after the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.
The Turkish leader met Hamas leader Muhammad Ismail Darwish in Ankara on Wednesday, his office said. Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, and MIT director, Ibrahim Kalin, also attended that meeting.
The Thai foreign ministry said the five released on Thursday would be taken to hospital for medical treatment.
“Thailand calls for the release of all the remaining hostages including a Thai national soonest, so they can safely return to their homeland and to their beloved families,” the ministry added.
Earlier we reported on Israel’s ban on the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa (see 10.50am GMT). In his piece, Peter Beaumont wrote that Palestinian staff were not present at the headquarters building in Jerusalem today due to security concerns amid a planned “celebration” by Israeli rightwing groups outside the compound.
Pictures on the newswires show nationalist Israeli activists spray painting over the Unrwa sign and attaching Israeli flags to the closed gate at the front of the headquarters.
Israel says mediators assured future ‘safe release’ of Gaza captives
Israel said it has received assurances from international mediators for the “safe release” of Gaza hostages during future exchanges, after chaotic scenes during Thursday’s handover of seven captives, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP) .
“Following prime minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu’s request, the mediators have provided a commitment guaranteeing the safe release of our hostages who will be freed in the next phases,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, after the prime minister earlier ordered a delay in the release of Palestinian prisoners (see 1.28pm GMT).
Israel says it received assurance from mediators for the future ‘safe release’ of Gaza captives, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
More details soon …
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has said she is “elated” following the release of the five Thai nationals from Gaza earlier today.
“Elated to get confirmation from our Thai Ambassador in Israel who informed me on the phone just now that five of our Thai nationals were indeed released today from Gaza,” she said in a statement.
“The Thai Government, including everyone here in Thailand, have long been waiting for this very moment.”
She added that the kingdom “deeply appreciates” the work done by Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and the United States to secure the hostages’ release, and thanked Israel for taking care of them.
The five people released have been named as Watchara Sriaoun, Pongsak Tanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnau, and Bannawat Saethao.
The Thai foreign ministry said all five were being taken to hospital for medical treatment.
Palestinian prisoners to be released at 5pm local time, say reports
Peter Beaumont
Israeli and Qatari media reports are suggesting that the Palestinians due to be released today as part of the hostage deal will be released at 5pm local time (3pm GMT).
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier ordered that the releases be delayed following chaotic scenes during the release of three Israelis from Gaza.
We have some more images now from the release of the hostages earlier today.
Gadi Moses, Arbel Yehoud, and some of the five Thai nationals are seen being led through a crowd before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
What we know about Israel’s decision to delay release of Palestinian prisoners
Peter Beaumont
Our senior international reporter writes from Jerusalem
Israel’s decision to delay the release of Palestinians held in its prisons, who had been due to be exchanged for three Israelis held in Gaza, is the latest crisis to hit the fragile ceasefire deal. How serious it is, is another question.
The ostensible reason for the delay was the chaotic crowd scenes in two locations in Gaza, during the release of the three Israelis today, one held by Hamas and two by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
As in previous releases Hamas has gone out of its way to stage-manage the optics of the release, complete with a military uniform provided for female soldier Agam Berger, stages, banners, the setting – Khan Younis, close to home of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the ruined Jabalia refugee camp.
Inevitably the releases were accompanied by scores of armed men escorting the released Israelis to be handed over to the Red Cross for repatriation.
The messaging has not been lost on Israeli and international observers. Hamas and PIJ, despite their decimation during 15 months of war, are keen to show they still exist and are able to put on a show of force with Israeli citizens at the centre.
Politically it makes the promises of Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a “total victory” against Hamas ring hollow.
All of which has led to this new – and probably temporary crisis – as, in the midst of the releases in Gaza, Netanyahu put out a statement condemning the scenes.
“I view with utmost severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages. This is additional proof of the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas terrorist organization.
“I demand that the mediators make certain that such terrible scenes do not recur, and guarantee the safety of our hostages. Whoever dares to harm our hostages will pay the price.”
A little later his office briefed media that the release of Palestinians under the deal would be delayed until the hostages safe release was “guaranteed.”
The reality is that this is a largely manufactured crisis in a deal where Israel has tried hard to control the optics, not least around the release of Palestinians whose families have been warned not to celebrate in public.
But with US president Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, saying that an American hostage is expected to be released later this week, following a meeting in which he reportedly told Netanyahu that Trump expected all phases of the complex agreement to be honoured, it seems unlikely that Netanyahu will risk torpedoing the deal.
The wide popularity of the ceasefire deal among Israelis, relieved to see their fellow citizens released home week after week, would also seem to militate against a serious crisis that would halt the process.
More likely is that this latest episode is simply an attempt on Netanyahu’s part to show that Israel not Hamas controls the narrative.
Emma Graham-Harrison
A spokesperson for Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said:
“The prime minister and the minister of defence have instructed to delay the release of the terrorists until the mediators guarantee the safe exit of the hostages in the next releases.”
The statement was issued while Netanyahu and Ddefence minister, Israel Katz, were meeting with the US envoy to the Middle East, the spokesperson added.
Norway says sending $24m to Unrwa after Israel ban
The Norwegian government said on Thursday that it would contribute $24m to the UN agency that helps takes care of Palestinian refugees, the same day that Israel banned the group from operating on Israeli territory.
“Gaza is in ruins, and Unrwa’s help is more necessary than ever,” Norwegian foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, said in a statement, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He said:
It is extremely dramatic for Palestine that Israeli laws come into force that in practice can prevent Unrwa from working.”
Israel halts release of Palestinian prisoners – report
Peter Beaumont
The Times of Israel is reporting that Israel has halted the release of Palestinian security prisoners set to be freed in a protest against the scenes of chaos surrounding the release of Arbel Yehoud, Gadi Moses, and five Thai nationals.
The report says the prisoners were on the buses ready to be released when they ordered off.
Seven hostages released in Gaza on Thursday are back on Israeli soil where the two Israelis among them will be reunited with their families, the Israeli military said.
“A short while ago, accompanied by IDF (army) and ISA (security agency) forces, the seven returning hostages crossed the border into Israeli territory,” the military said, adding that the two Israeli hostages will be reunited with their families and the five Thai hostages will be met by Thai officials.
Israel publishes names of five freed Thai hostages
Israel issued the names of five Thai hostages freed by Palestinian militants on Thursday in Gaza as part of an ongoing ceasefire deal with Israel, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Thai nationals are: Watchara Sriaoun, Pongsak Tanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnau, and Bannawat Saethao, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.
The family of a Thai farm worker held for over a year in Gaza wept with relief on Thursday as he was freed in a hostage-prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Five Thais were freed along with three Israelis held by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war. When Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, 31 Thais were abducted, with 23 released by the end of that year and two confirmed dead in May.
“It is confirmed everyone, my son did not die. Thank you God,” Wiwwaeo Sriaoun said as she heard the confirmation that her son Watchara Sriaoun was among those freed.
“I will hug him when I see him. I want to see if his health is OK, I am worried about his health,” she added between sobs. “Thank you, thank you God he did not died. We trust in God.”
About 10 family members had gathered to support Wiwwaeo as she waiting for news at the modest house on the family rubber farm in the north-east Udon Thani region.
Watchara was among the six Thai hostages still held in Gaza, but when the detainee exchange was announced on Wednesday there was no detail on which of the six Thais would be freed.
Hailing from the poor, rural Udon Thani, Watchara moved to Israel three years ago to work as a farmer for better wages.
Before her son’s release was confirmed, Wiwwaeo spent the day watching news channels on a tablet computer hoping for good news.
“Come, come home back to your father, mother and daughter,” she said as she watched.
Wiwwaeo told AFP:
My friend called around 10 pm and said the ambassador told her five Thais will be released, and my friend said my son could be one. I could not sleep from then until now. I was up until 3am and my husband and I went out for rubber tapping and since then I have been monitoring the news.”
