Main events from February 15th
- Hamas freed three Israeli captives held in Gaza, while Israel released some 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, after mediators intervened and helped avert a collapse of the fragile ceasefire deal.
- Most of the 369 Palestinians released on Saturday returned to Gaza, while some went to the occupied West Bank, and others were deported.
- Four of the Palestinians released in the occupied West Bank were so sick that they had to be hospitalised. The prisoners and detainees say Israeli forces assaulted and insulted them until the moment of their release.
- Israel’s prison service also made the Palestinians wear custom shirts, which bore the words, “We do not forget and we do not forgive” in Arabic, alongside the star of David. Soon after their release, many took the shirts off and burned them.
- Rescuers in Lebanon say Israeli forces bombed a vehicle in the south of the country, killing at least three people and wounding five others.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Israel as part of a six-day tour of the Middle East, including stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to discuss advancing the Gaza ceasefire and countering Iran’s influence.
UN chief says it would be ‘inconceivable’ for Gaza war to resume
Antonio Guterres has hailed a “dramatic increase” in the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire but said the supplies entering the enclave are not enough for the 2.3 million Palestinians living among the ruins of their destroyed homes.
The UN secretary-general said that “humanitarian aid has boomed” as “soon as the obstacles were removed with the ceasefire” and added that the global body is supporting mediated efforts by Qatar, Egypt and the US to guarantee the truce.
“It would be inconceivable that the war would start in Gaza again,” he said.
Guterres, who was speaking in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, also rejected the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, as proposed by US President Donald Trump.
“It would be inconceivable to have millions of Palestinians being expelled from the land where they live, as it would be impossible to accept that those Palestinians would leave without any rights in the country, in the land that they always have lived in,” he said.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal: What happens next?
- The ceasefire deal agreed upon between Israel and Hamas includes the release of all Israeli captives over three phases.
- The first phase calls for 33 Israeli captives held in Gaza to be exchanged for nearly 2,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
- So far, Palestinian factions have released 19 Israeli captives, while Israel has freed 1,135 Palestinians.
- Two more exchanges are expected to take place during this phase: One next weekend, on February 22, and another on March 1.
- The second phase of the agreement is due to begin the same day. During phase two, the remaining living Israeli captives are to be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces are also to fully withdraw from Gaza, and a permanent ceasefire is to be established.
- Hamas and Israel are expected to hold indirect negotiations on the implementation of this phase early next week.
