Summary
- Ninety Palestinians held in Israeli prisons are due to be freed after the release of three Israeli captives held in Gaza under a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
- The ceasefire began at 09:15 GMT after a nearly three-hour delay during which Israeli attacks killed at least 19 Palestinians.
- Thousands of displaced Palestinians, meanwhile, have been returning to what remains of their homes in various areas of Gaza.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 46,913 Palestinians and wounded 110,750 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 taken captive.
- The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza has come into force after a last-minute delay, with displaced Palestinians beginning to return to the cities they fled
- One man, from Gaza City, tells reporters his home may have been “swept away” but he wants to return to his neighbourhood – even if to “set up a tent”
- The first three Israeli female hostages are expected to be freed later – Hamas has named them as 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, and 24-year-old Romi Gonen
- Up until the ceasefire began, Israel continued to carry out strikes on Gaza, killing 19 people, according to the Hamas-run civil defence agency
- Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages
- The attack triggered a massive Israeli offensive on Gaza, during which more than 46,800 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry
Israeli forces have been using tear gas on Palestinians outside Ofer Prison
This is an attempt by Israeli forces to push families and media back because they do not want any attention on the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli prison service released a statement days ago saying that they are going to be heavily involved in this release, more so than they were previously because they want to limit all expressions of joy among Palestinians who are getting released.
This prisoner release was a huge point of contention in the Israeli government because the far-right didn’t want to see any released at all.
So it’s not so shocking to see this tear gas being fired at people in the area because we saw similar scenes back in November of 2023 when the first and only other ceasefire deal took place.
The reason why the Israeli military is taking so long to release them is that they don’t want people on the street celebrating.
Palestinians wounded by Israeli forces outside Ofer Prison
At least seven people have been wounded after Israeli security personnel attacked people gathered near the military prison, inside which are the 90 Palestinian prisoners set to be released tonight.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society reports that the injuries, which its crews treated, were “minor”.
Sources say that Israeli forces deployed tear gas and rubber bullets against those gathered outside the prison, which is located near the Palestinian town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces surround East Jerusalem home of prisoner set for release
We are receiving reports of Israeli army officers surrounding a home in occupied East Jerusalem that belongs to the family of Palestinian prisoner Qassem Jaafara, who is set to be released as part of the ceasefire deal.
Ninety Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released from Ofer Prison as part of the agreement.
Israeli doctors say the captives are in good health
Doctors have said that the captives are in good health, but as part of the plan to receive the captives back in Israel, there will be a minimum of a four-day stay at the hospital.
They’re going to be conducting several different psychological evaluations and medical exams to see exactly what kind of condition the captives are in.
The [Israeli] military had confirmed hours ago that they [the captives] crossed into Israeli territory and were being airlifted to the hospital.
It’s worth mentioning that since the ceasefire deal was announced Wednesday night, there was no word from Benjamin Netanyahu, no sort of public appearance, no public statement other than the fact that he wasn’t going to make a statement.
Benjamin Netanyahu finally released a statement last night after the security cabinet meeting was delayed and after the cabinet vote had also been delayed.
If you’re just joining us
Here are some of the main developments over the past day:
- A Red Cross delegation is in Ofer Prison, verifying the identity of the 90 Palestinian prisoners set to be released tonight.
- Hamas handed three Israeli captives to the Red Cross, which transferred them to Israeli forces who took them out of the Gaza Strip.
- Hamas’s military spokesperson, Abu Obeida, has given a televised speech, saying that Hamas is committed to the ceasefire deal, which he said could have been reached over a year ago if it had not been for Netanyahu’s “malicious ambitions”.
- Gaza’s Interior Ministry says in a statement that local security forces were reintroduced to the main streets of Gaza following the start of the ceasefire agreement today.
Ceasefire? Not in the West Bank’, says NGO monitoring settler attacks
Yes Din, an Israeli organisation monitoring settler violence in the West Bank, has said dozens of attacks were reported today as Israeli settlers stormed into Palestinian villages and torched properties.
“Ceasefire? Not in the West Bank tonight,” the organisation said on X, in a reference to the Gaza deal.
The group said attacks took place in the village of Ein Siniya, where Palestinian homes were torched, as well as in Turmus Aya and along Route 60 near al-Lubban Asharqiya.
Separately, Al Jazeera Arabic and the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that a Palestinian minor from the town of Sebastia, north of Nablus, died of his wounds after being shot by settlers.
‘We will set up a tent and stay in our neighbourhood’
We reported earlier on the thousands of displaced Palestinians who’ve been pictured and filmed returning to the cities they fled during the 15-month war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
We’re now seeing footage of some of those people pausing to celebrate, often in big groups, as they are able to make the journey – despite the reality being they may have no physical home to return to.
Saleem Nabhan, a displaced man from Gaza City, is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: “Our homes were swept away, so we will set up a tent and stay in our neighbourhood, so we can feel that we are back to our neighbourhood, to our home.”
In the southern city of Khan Younis, crowds are singing and chanting – guns have also been fired into the air.