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Hamas released three Israeli men in a prison in Gaza on Saturday after a growing swap trade for Palestinian prisoners later in the day as the increasingly fragile ceasefire reached its third week.
The men were handed over to the ICRC at a meticulous ceremony held by Deir Al-Balah, a relatively damaged part of the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli officials, they were taken from home and from music festivals in the attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants, about 1,200 of them were killed.
Ohad Ben Ami, 56, or Levy and Eli Sharabi, 34, and Hamas, 52, appeared pale and thin as he marched along armed fighters on the stage.
In the ceasefire clause, Israel demanded the release of about 180 Palestinian prisoners late Saturday. The vast majority are not tried in Israeli prisons. After committing the assault on Israel, less than twenty-twenty people served their sentences.
According to local officials, nearly 48,000 people died in the besieged areas during the 15 months of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Despite the latest exchanges, the framework for the ceasefire has become increasingly tense due to the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and public statements that underline his reluctance to end the war.
On Friday, Hamas delayed confirmation of the swap that will be scheduled after complaining that Israel would not allow thousands of tents and mobile homes to enter Gaza.
Those familiar with the details say the entry of these humanitarian supplies is a requirement, although it is not clear when delivery will arrive.
As winter storms hit coastal enclaves, demand for shelters has become increasingly urgent this week. About 2MN people were displaced and lived in the ruins of the tent city and its nearby ruins.
Netanyahu, whose promise to resume the war with Hamas earlier this week, also had a ceasefire future after being told Donald Trump favors displacement of the entire Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip It also aroused people’s suspicion.
The third-phase ceasefire is currently in a transition between the first and second phases, during which negotiations end the war.
During the first six weeks, Hamas was asked to release 33 Israeli hostages, including all children over 50, men and women. By Saturday, it had released 21. The six-week period ends in the first week of March.
The group initially took about 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. The team released about 120 people in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in a short ceasefire in November 2023. Many of the remaining hostages were considered dead.
Last week, Hamas also released five Thai farm workers who were captured in a cross-border raid that sparked the war.
Hamas will only begin to release captured male soldiers, and if negotiations succeed, convert a temporary ceasefire into a permanent truce, the bodies of the deceased will be captured. That would require Israel to withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip.
The talks will begin this week, but Israel has not sent any senior teams to Qatar or Egypt, which are mediating the deal with the United States.
If Netanyahu ends the war, he risks the collapse of dominating the right-wing coalition, including a far-right party.
Their demands included actions to continue fighting and permanent reoccupation of the Gaza Strip. This is Trump’s plan to control the enclave, fire its Palestinian population, and launch a reconstruction plan to turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Hamas rejected the proposals, which were also condemned by American Arab and European allies.
