Hamas has released all 20 of the living captives it had been holding in the Gaza Strip, while Israel has begun freeing about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the conditions of the ceasefire deal.
Cheers broke out in Israel early on Monday, as television channels announced that the first lot of seven captives had been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Emotional scenes unfolded as the freed hostages reunited with their families in hospitals across Israel and as Palestinian prisoners met with their relatives in the West Bank and arrived in buses back to Gaza.
US President Donald Trump hailed a “dawn of a new Middle East” in remarks before the Israeli parliament today after Hamas freed all living hostages and Israel released Palestinian prisoners under the US-brokered ceasefire deal. Trump is now headed to Egypt for a summit on Gaza’s future alongside other world leaders.
While key questions remain over the future of Gaza and Hamas’s role in the territory, the exchange of captives and prisoners has raised hopes for ending the devastating war, which has ravaged the enclave, with at least 67,806 people killed and 170,066 wounded in the Palestinian enclave.
The ceasefire is also expected to allow for a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, where famine has broken out amid Israel’s bombardment and blockade of the territory. Many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are reported to be on the brink of starvation.
Meanwhile, Hamas was seen reasserting control of parts of Gaza not occupied by Israeli forces as the ceasefire took hold – amid continuing uncertainty about security in the territory if the group is disarmed, a CNN report said.
Hamas’ internal security forces were pictured on the streets of Gaza City on Saturday, and there have been multiple reports of clashes between the group and clans opposing it in recent days.
“A number of collaborators and informants were apprehended and arrested in Gaza City, after it was proven that they were involved in spying for the enemy,” as well as “participating in the assassination of several resistance members,” the Palestinian Home Front, a Telegram channel affiliated with Hamas, said Sunday.
“The security services and the resistance are conducting a wide-scale field campaign across all areas of the Gaza Strip, from north to south, to locate and arrest collaborators and informants,” it said.
