Hamas has handed over three Israelis and five Thai nationals in chaotic scenes at multiple locations in Gaza, as part of the latest phase of a fragile ceasefire deal.
Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Moses, 80, both civilians, an Israeli female soldier Agam Berger, 20, and five Thai citizens were released among massive crowds in the north and the south of the Gaza Strip. Later, they crossed into Israel where the Israelis were reunited with their families, while the Thai workers were met by members of the consulate.
Ms Berger was the first to be released in northern Gaza. Hours later, in southern Gaza in chaotic scenes that sparked uproar in Israel, huge crowds gathered at the second handover sight located at the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, in Khan Younis. There hundreds of Palestinians swarmed heavily armed militants as they fought through the scrum to deliver a visibly shaken Ms Yehoud, 29, to Red Cross vehicles.
The releases were part of the first phase of this Israel-Hamas ceasefire, which will see 33 hostages freed for up to 1,900 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails across six weeks.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the chaos around Ms Yehoud’s handover “shocking” and temporarily suspended the release of 110 Palestinian prisoners over Hamas’s handling of the incident.
Mr Netanyahu said: “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.”
He later said that he had received such a commitment and the prison releases began later on Thursday afternoon.
There appeared to be no live images of Mr Moses’s release, but he was pictured later. He is among the oldest remaining hostages in Gaza. His family members told The Independent last week he suffered from numerous medical issues.
The release of the five Thai nationals – which was not officially part of the deal – was also not widely televised. Israel named them as Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakhan, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Rumnao Surasak.
More than 30 Thai farm workers were taken hostage on 7 October, 2023, in the Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza. Around 1,200 people were killed during the assault according to the Israelis, while 251 more, including the eight released today, were taken hostage.
Israel’s retaliatory air and ground offensive in Gaza in the 15 months since then has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, and displaced nearly 2 million people.
Eight of the 33 hostages slated for release in the first phase are dead, the Israeli government said this week. Five Israeli civilians and five soldiers – all women – as well five Thai nationals not included in the original deal, have been released so far in the ceasefire, which began on 19 January. The next hostage release is scheduled for Saturday. In return, Israel has released 290 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Earlier in Jabalia, northern Gaza, Ms Berger, 20, a military spotter, was filmed emerging from a heavily damaged building before walking onto a stage where she waved at the crowd. Ms Berger had reportedly arrived at the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel just two days before Hamas’s 7 October attack during which she was captured.
A video from Ms Berger’s family home showed dozens of people celebrating as they watched her being released.
“This is the happiest moment of my life,” one of Ms Berger’s relatives told Israeli outlet Channel 12. “Now we can breathe again.”
Ms Berger’s family said in a statement: “Thank God we have reached this moment, and our hero Agam has returned to us after 482 days in enemy hands.”Later the family of Ms Yehoud shared a photo of the family aboard an Israeli helicopter.
Ms Yehoud, who appeared in a video by the militant Palestinian Islamic Jihad this week, was taken with her partner Ariel Cunio. Mr Cunio, together with his brother David, remains inside Gaza and is not included in the list of releases for the first part of the ceasefire deal. Ms Yehoud’s brother Dolev was killed during the 7 October assault.
“Our mission is not yet complete. Ariel, Arbel’s partner, is still held captive in Gaza. So are his brother David, their good friend Sasha, the other hostages from Nir Oz, and all our loved ones,” the family wrote. “We will not rest until all hostages are released. We urge everyone not to let this open door close. Everyone must be brought home immediately so that we can heal as a society.”
The family of Gadi Moses also shared a photo, showing the frail grandfather with his three children.
At Hostages Square, a rallying point in Tel Aviv, a group representing those held in Gaza clutched around huge screens playing the live images. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters called the hostage transfer “harrowing” adding “our hearts were gripped with fear”. They once again called for all the hostages to be released.
Ms Berger is believed to be the last female Israeli solider still left inside Gaza. She had been captured alongside her fellow observers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy, who have all been released already.
Ms Yehud is the last female civilian hostage that Israel believes is most likely alive. Another civilian woman, Shiri Bibas, remains in Gaza after she was abducted from Nir Oz with her two young sons, Ariel, who was four at the time, and Kfir, who was nine months. The Israeli military has expressed grave concern for the lives of Ms Bibas and her children, though their deaths have not been confirmed.
The partner of Mr Moses, one of the oldest remaining hostages, was also killed by Hamas on 7 October. His ex-wife Margalit Moses, initially a hostage, was released during the first week-long ceasefire deal in November 2023.
Meanwhile in the occupied West Bank, families of the detainees waited anxiously for news of the releases after the delay. Scuffles erupted around Ofer prison with Palestinian teenagers throwing stones outside the complex and Israeli forces firing tear gas as they tried to clear the area.
Prisoners were finally released in the afternoon in white buses, with windshield’s shattered from the clashes. On board is expected to be 30 serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis and 30 minors, the youngest just 15 years old.
Among those seen leaving Ofer prison was Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former militant leader and theatre director who took part in a dramatic jailbreak in 2021 before being rearrested days later. In a grey prison sweatsuit, he flashed a victory sign at the crowds.
The ceasefire deal, brokered by United States, Egypt and Qatar after a year of tough negotiations, has been fraught with delays and at several points has floundered.
Israel said Ms Yehoud, who Palestinian militant factions initially accused of being a combatant, was supposed to have been freed last Saturday and delayed the opening of crossings to northern Gaza when she was not. After an agreement, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, was pushed through late on Sunday to release her on Thursday, Israel opened the crossing, known as the Netzarim corridor, the following morning.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians then began returning to their homes in the north of the territory, much of which has been destroyed by more than 15 months of war.
