Israel delays prisoner release after chaotic hostage handover
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JERUSALEM: Hamas handed over three Israelis and five Thai hostages in Gaza on Thursday (Jan 30), but Israel delayed the expected release of Palestinian prisoners after chaotic scenes at one of the handover points, where large crowds swarmed around the captives.
Arbel Yehud, 29, abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz in the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, looked fearful and struggled to walk through a surging crowd as armed militants handed her to the Red Cross in a tense scene in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Another Israeli hostage, Gadi Moses, 80, was also released along with five Thai nationals working on Israeli farms near Gaza when the militants burst through the border fence, the Israeli military said.
The mother of one of the Thais watched a livestream of the scene anxiously from her home in the northeastern Udon Thani province.
"Please, let my son walk out now, I want to see his face," Wiwwaro Sriaoun, 53, said as the footage on her phone showed a vehicle moving slowly through the crowd.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the sight of their handover amid the swarming crowds was shocking and threatened death to anyone hurting hostages. He urged mediators to ensure the scene would not be repeated.
A total of 110 Palestinian prisoners were expected to be freed on Thursday as part of the phased agreement that halted fighting in the shattered coastal territory earlier this month.
An Israeli official involved in the operation said buses carrying the detainees had been instructed to return to prisons in an apparent response to the chaotic handover.
Netanyahu and the Defence Minister Israel Katz said they had ordered the delay in releases "until the safe exit of our hostages in the next phases is assured".
An Israeli official said later that understandings had been reached, and Palestinian prisoners would be released at 5pm. A Palestinian source said the Red Cross had told Hamas the Palestinian prisoners would be released on Thursday.
Earlier, in Jabalia in northern Gaza, an Israeli soldier, Agam Berger, wearing an olive green uniform, was led through a narrow alley between heavily damaged buildings and over piles of rubble before being handed to the Red Cross.
"Our daughter is strong, faithful, and brave," a statement from her family said. "Now Agam and our family can begin the healing process, but the recovery will not be complete until all the hostages return home."
A video released by Netanyahu's office showed a pale Berger crying and smiling while sitting on her mother's lap.
Netanyahu has faced criticism in Israel for not having sealed a hostage deal earlier after the security failure that enabled the Oct 7 Hamas assault.
HAMAS DEFIANCE
Hamas, which Israel has vowed to obliterate, still has a strong presence in Gaza despite heavy bombardment from the Middle East's most advanced military over more than 15 months and the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar.
"The killing of leaders only makes the people stronger and more stubborn," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said of Sinwar, filmed by an Israeli drone badly wounded throwing a piece of wood at the device in his final defiance of Israel.
The release in Khan Younis took place near the bombed ruins of Sinwar's house.
The Palestinian prisoners, who include 30 minors and some convicted members of Palestinian groups responsible for deadly attacks that have killed dozens of people in Israel, were expected to be taken to the West Bank or Gaza.
Israelis gathered in what has become known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, cheering and crying as they watched the release on a giant screen. The hostages will be taken to hospital for treatment.
Some people cheered as US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff arrived at the square, in apparent gratitude for his role in securing the ceasefire deal. He shook hands with some people, including family members of hostages.
Around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages were abducted in the Hamas attack in Israel, the bloodiest single attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Israel's military response has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians and laid waste to the enclave of 2.3 million people, who face severe shortages of medicine, fuel and food.
Around half the hostages were released the following month during the only previous truce, and others have been recovered dead or alive during Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands of Gazans, most displaced repeatedly during the conflict, have returned to their neighbourhoods in the north, where the fighting was most intense. Many have found their homes to be uninhabitable and basic goods in short supply.
Israel still lists 82 captives in Gaza, with around 30 declared dead in absentia.
In the course of the war triggered by the Hamas attack, Israel has killed other leaders of Hamas as well as Lebanon's Hezbollah, striking major blows against Iran's network of proxies in the Middle East. The fall of Iran-backed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was also a boost for Israel.
Israeli forces have stepped up operations in another Palestinian territory, the West Bank, since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect, saying they are targeting militants there.
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