Israel releases 200 Palestinians after Hamas frees 4 soldiers

Associated Press

Tel Aviv: Israeli authorities say they have released 200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. The release came hours after Hamas freed four young female Israeli soldiers from captivity in Gaza. Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City on Saturday after parading them in front of a crowd. Israel followed with the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The four Israeli soldiers smiled broadly as they waved and gave the thumbs-up from a stage in Gaza City's Palestine Square, militants on either side of them and a crowd of thousands watching before they were led off to waiting Red Cross vehicles. They were likely acting under duress, with previously released hostages saying they were held in brutal conditions and forced to record propaganda videos. Israel then released 70 Palestinian prisoners who will not be allowed to return to the Gaza Strip or West Bank, according to Egypt's state-run Qahera TV, which said they had arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza. Egypt served as a key mediator in more than a year of talks that led to the truce agreement. Later, buses carrying the remainder of the 200 Palestinian prisoners being released made their way from Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank toward Jerusalem and the city of Ramallah, where crowds of relatives and supporters awaited.

As the four Israeli soldiers were released, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square where they were watching the drama unfold on a big screen television. “I'm speechless,” said Aviv Bercovich, one of the onlookers. “I had goosebumps watching them. I just want the war to end.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office later released a video showing the freed hostages being welcomed at an Israeli army base. One of them, Liri Albag, smiled, gave two thumbs up and made a heart shape with her hand before getting into a van. Netanyahu's office later said that Arbel Yehoud, a civilian hostage held by Hamas, was supposed to have been released Saturday. It said Israel would not allow Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza, which had been expected to begin by Sunday, until she is freed.

A senior Hamas official said the group has informed mediators that Yehoud will be released next week. Meantime, an Egyptian official involved in the negotiations called the matter a “minor issue" that mediators are working to resolve. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The crowds in Tel Aviv and also in Gaza City began gathering early in the day in anticipation of the second such exchange between Israel and Hamas since a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip last weekend. The excitement in Israel was palpable, with TV stations filled with live reports from smiling news anchors and reporters interviewing ecstatic friends and relatives of the hostages. The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive ar ver fought between Israel and the militant group.