(Jerusalem) Hamas published on Friday the names of Israeli “four soldiers” to be released on Saturday, as part of a second series of exchanges with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, in accordance with the truce agreement in the band from Gaza.
Posted at 7:15 a.m.
Updated at 10:42 a.m.
Didier Lauras
Agency France-Presse
“As part of the exchange of prisoners, the brigades [Ezzedine] Al-Qassam decided to release [samedi] Four soldiers, “Abou Obeida, spokesperson for the armed branch of Hamas on Friday, on Telegram.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu confirmed in stride to having received, via mediators, a list of hostages “unreachable without further details.
Israel simultaneously announced that he would not withdraw from southern Lebanon on Sunday, as stipulated in the cease-fire agreement signed with Beirut at the end of November to end two months of open war with Hezbollah.
The four hostages, retained in Gaza since October 7, 2023, must be exchanged for an unknown number of Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel.
“The Al-Qassam brigades and other groups […] will release the four prisoners on Saturday “and entrust them to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said a source close to Hamas under the cover of anonymity, without time precision.
The first phase of the current truce, which is due to last six weeks and has started on Sunday, should allow the release of 33 hostages against some 1900 Palestinian prisoners.
Families in doubt
Three young women who have already been released last weekend, in exchange for the 90 Palestinian prison release, there will then remain 26 released hostages on this first phase. The names were communicated but without chronological liberation order.
The attack on Hamas on October 7, 2023 led to the death of 1,210 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Out of 251 people then removed, 91 are still in Gaza, including 34 dead according to the army.
Others have been announced dead by Hamas but without Israeli confirmation, plunging families into excruciating doubt.
In retaliation in October 7, Israel launched a devastating offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip, which left at least 47,283 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health. The operation caused a humanitarian disaster.
The truce has been generally respected since Sunday, excluding some incidents. According to the agreement, after the release of the four new hostages, the displaced “in the south of the Gaza Strip will begin to return north,” said Hamas manager. “An Egypto-Qatari committee will oversee the implementation of the field agreement”.
“The agreement should take, but if it does not hold, there will be a lot of problems,” US President Donald Trump told journalists on Thursday.
-Photo Karamallah therefore, Reuters
Members of the Lebanese army are going through a damaged site in the Lebanese village in Khiam, near the border with Israel.
Israeli withdrawal delayed in Lebanon
On the Lebanese border, the other ceasefire involving Israel, this time with Hezbollah, still held on Friday.
But Mr. Netanyahu said that the withdrawal of his troops from southern Lebanon “continues” beyond the 60 days scheduled by the agreement, this Sunday.
The provisions planned “not having been fully completed by Lebanon, the steps withdrawal process will continue in agreement with the United States,” said its office.
One of the clauses stipulated that “the Lebanese army unfolds in southern Lebanon” and requires “the withdrawal of Hezbollah beyond the [fleuve] Litani, ”he added in a statement.
Believing that this is not the case, Israel “will achieve the objectives of the war” to allow its displaced residents of the border area to return “safe”.
Lebanese president Joseph Aoun had claimed on Saturday that this Israeli withdrawal is “within the deadlines set”. He had also denounced “the continuation of Israeli violations”, deploring “the enermming of houses and the destruction of border villages”.
Lebanese authorities did not initially react to the announcement of Israel. In a statement, Hezbollah said on Thursday that a non-compliance with the Sunday deadline would be “a blatant violation of the agreement and a new attack on Lebanese sovereignty”.
“War methods” in the West Bank
At the same time, Israeli soldiers continue on Friday in the West Bank occupied for the fourth consecutive day an operation baptized “Iron Wall” in Jenine, one of the bastions of the Palestinian resistance.
Hundreds of Palestinians left the vast refugee camp of this city in the north of the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 on Thursday.
For its part, the UN denounced the use of “war methods” and “the illegal appeal to the lethal force” by Israel.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has confirmed the Palestinian assessment of 12 Palestinians killed and some 40 injured, adding that “most of them” were apparently not armed.
