Israel says will not allow Palestinians’ return to north until captive issue resolved
We’ve just received a statement by the Israeli prime minister’s office saying that Israel will not allow civilians to cross back into northern Gaza, as it had been agreed, before the issue of the release of female civilian captive Arbel Yehoud, who it had been expecting to be released today, is resolved.
Israel accuses Hamas of failing to meet all captive release conditions
Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari has given a video address after the release of four female Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Hagari said “we salute and embrace” the released soldiers and their families as they reunite.
He also thanked international mediators for helping secure their release, specifically the US, Qatar and Egypt. However, “we cannot and will not forget the 90 hostages, including women, children and elderly men” still in captivity in Gaza, Hagari said.
The Israeli military official also accused Hamas of failing to honour the agreed-upon terms for releasing captives, which he said required the group to first release all female civilian captives. Several of these women are still believed to be held in the enclave.
Hamas says captive Arbel Yehoud alive, will be released in a week
A Hamas source has told Al Jazeera that the group has informed the mediators that Arbel Yehoud is alive and will be released next Saturday.
Earlier, a statement by the Israeli prime minister’s office said Israel would not allow the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza until the issue of her release was resolved.
Israel going back on agreement to allow Palestinians to cross into northern Gaza
Israeli captive Arbel Yehoud was supposed to be on the list of Israeli captives being released today because they wanted to start with Israeli civilians and then move on to Israeli soldiers and then the sick and the injured.
However, the list that Israel got wasn’t exactly what they expected and it meant that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately scrambled his team of the military top brass to discuss what they could do.
Now, we do know from the Palestinian Prisons Information Office that Hamas gave them new information, and that is that Arbel Yehoud is alive.
Israel is keeping to their part of the deal that they will be releasing 200 prisoners, 70 of those will be deported. But they are now reneging on opening the Netzarim Corridor that they had created during the war and allowing people in Gaza to go back to their homes in the north.
People in Gaza still hopeful about returning to north despite Israeli decision to halt
More Palestinians are still coming, waiting for the green light from the policemen who are standing at the beginning of the al-Rashid Street to give them access [to the northern Gaza Strip]. As long as the Israelis don’t allow them to cross, the police are not going to let them cross so that they are not in danger of being targeted by Israeli snipers.
The Palestinians who we spoke to are happy, they know it is going to be a long wait, but they said it is ok. They say they have waited for 15 months that felt like 15 years.
This is the first time since the war broke out that Palestinians are moving because they want to move … it is not a forced evacuation order, it is not a danger zone, it is not a place they were evacuated to … Palestinians today are choosing to go back home.
Israeli army chief warns Palestinians not to approach Netzarim Corridor
Israeli Chief of Staff, Major-General Herzi Halevi, says the army has completed an assessment of the Netzarim Corridor with forces ready in the area “until a different decision is made” after Netanyahu reneged on an agreement to open the corridor following the release of the captives.
The army also warned Palestinians in Gaza not to approach the area until it is opened.
Palestinians were expecting to return to areas in the northern Gaza Strip today, but Israel said it would not allow them until the issue of the release of captive Arbel Yehoud was resolved.
Ceasefire mediators and Israel discussing release of Arbel Yehud: Report
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority has reported that discussions are ongoing between Israel and mediators of the ceasefire agreement to have Arbel Yehud released before next Saturday.
Israel expected Yehud to be released earlier today along with the other female captives, but Hamas said she would be released next week. According to the news outlet, once Yehud is released, Palestinians will be allowed to return to northern Gaza as Israeli soldiers will leave the Netzarim Corridor.
Earlier, Israeli news outlet Channel 13 quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying Palestinians would be allowed to return once Israel had confirmation that Yehud was alive.
Palestinians displaced on ‘standby mode’ near Gaza’s shuttered Netzarim Corridor
We see a lot more people coming and waiting [in the area leading to Netzarim Corridor]. They are on the sidewalks. We see women, we see children. Everyone is waiting for the moment they are able to start walking towards the north of Gaza.
People are on standby mode as if it’s a marathon … they want to get to their houses, their neighbourhoods, all the places they have memories of, as fast as possible.
There are police, ambulances and bulldozers standing in the way, not letting people proceed because they have not been getting the green light for the Palestinians to start moving back to [the north].
On al-Rachid street, the people gathered are planning to go back [to the north] walking. On the other side [of the enclave], on Salah al-Din Street, there are people who are going to go back with their cars and vehicles.
We don’t see any people packing food. People have gone through many days without food. Food is going to wait. All people want right now is to reach their houses.
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