KEY POINTS
- Hamas releases three Israeli hostages
- Israel frees 183 Palestinian prisoners from jails.
- Seven released Palestinian prisoners need hospitalisation due to alleged mistreatment in Israeli jails.
- Hamas accuses Israel of “slow killing” policy against Palestinian prisoners.
- Talks in Doha aim to extend the truce and secure the release of more hostages.
- Israeli bombardments have killed at least 48,181 Palestinians in Gaza.
GAZA CITY: Israel and Hamas completed their fifth hostage-prisoner exchange under the fragile ceasefire deal in Gaza on Saturday, with Hamas releasing three Israeli hostages in return for 183 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails.
The latest swap, facilitated under the truce brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, comes amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to extend the ceasefire and secure the release of more hostages.
The exchange also coincided with controversial remarks from US President Donald Trump, who suggested that Washington should take over Gaza and expel its Palestinian residents, provoking widespread condemnation.
Israeli authorities confirmed that hostages Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eli Sharabi were returned to Israel, bringing the total number of hostages freed since Hamas’s 7 October attack to 73.
According to Israeli sources, 251 hostages were taken during the Hamas attack, with 34 believed to have died in Gaza amid relentless and indiscriminate Israeli bombardments.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an advocacy group, reported that seven of the released Palestinian prisoners required hospitalisation due to mistreatment in Israeli jails.
“All the prisoners who were released today are in need of medical care… as a result of the brutality they were subjected to in jail,” the organisation stated. The Palestinian Red Crescent also confirmed the hospitalisations, condemning what they described as inhumane conditions endured by Palestinian prisoners.
Slow killing of Palestinian prisoners
Hamas accused Israel of “systematic assaults and mistreatment” of Palestinian prisoners, calling the practice a “slow killing” policy designed to weaken detainees physically and psychologically.
In Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, jubilant crowds gathered to welcome the freed prisoners, embracing them as they stepped off buses arriving from Israel’s Ofer prison. Similar scenes unfolded in occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza, where families celebrated the return of their loved ones.
Israeli campaign groups, including the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, urged the government to prioritise the continuation of the truce, pushing for the release of all remaining hostages.
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“An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home,” the group said in a statement. “Now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed – until the very last one.”
Gaza ceasefire talks
With the ceasefire’s first phase aiming to secure the release of 12 more hostages within 42 days, negotiations are set to continue in Doha, where an Israeli delegation is expected to participate in further discussions. However, details of the next phase of talks remain unclear.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has launched relentless bombardments across Gaza, killing at least 48,181 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry. The United Nations has deemed these casualty figures credible, further raising global concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
