Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

[SvennoJ]

Hamas official discusses with ICRC double standards over release of Israeli, Palestinian bodies

Ismail al-Thawabteh, director of Gaza’s Government Media Office, has met a delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), according to a statement issued on Telegram.

The statement said the official “raised a set of fundamental questions, including the mechanism and method of receiving the bodies of Israeli captives, in humane and appropriate ways, while the bodies of Palestinian martyrs … are handed over in inhumane and brutal ways by the occupation army”.

Last September, the ICRC denied any role in the transfer of the remains of dead Palestinians from Israel to Gaza. The issue was raised by al-Thawabteh in the meeting, the statement said.

He highlighted that some of the Palestinian bodies had been “dissolved and handed over in humiliating ways in plastic bags that contradict international standards”.

The Gaza official also “asked about the position of the International Committee regarding the occupation’s evasion of its responsibilities in revealing the fate of Palestinian detainees who were subjected to the crime of enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity”.

The meeting comes after the ICRC criticised the public handover ceremony of four Israeli captives’ bodies last week, saying it should have been done “privately”.

Israel to release delayed batch of 620 prisoners, along with ‘equivalent number’ of women, children: Hamas

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem has confirmed in an interview with Al-Aqsa TV that an agreement has been reached with mediators in Egypt to resolve the issues related to Israel’s delay in releasing the seventh batch of Palestinian prisoners.

He said the group would hand over four bodies of Israeli captives “simultaneously with the occupation’s release of the postponed batch, in addition to the release of the equivalent number of women and children who were arrested after October 7 in the Gaza Strip”.

He added there “are clear guarantees from the mediators” that Israel must abide by what has been agreed upon.

Hamas names four Israelis whose bodies will be handed over on Wednesday evening

The spokesperson for the Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, has announced the names of four deceased Israelis whose bodies will be handed over on Wednesday night:

• Tsachi Idan, 50, was taken by Hamas gunmen from his home in Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023. His eldest child, Maayan – who had just turned 18 – was shot dead in the attack.
• Itzik Elgarat, 69, was kidnapped from Nir Oz, and reportedly shot in the hand during the attack.
• Ohad Yahalomi, 50, was abducted from Nir Oz, along with his 12-year-old son, Eitan, who was released during the November 2023 ceasefire.
• Shlomo Mansour, 86, an Iraq-born Israeli, was killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and his body was taken to Gaza.

No public ceremony for handover of four Israeli captives’ bodies: Hamas official

A senior Hamas official has told the AFP news agency that the Palestinian movement will not hold a public ceremony for the handover of the bodies of four Israeli captives on Thursday.

“The handover will take place without public presence to prevent the occupation from finding any pretext for delay or obstruction,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss the matter.

Israel prepares Palestinian detainees for release from Ofer and Ketziot prisons

We’ve heard from the Israeli Prison Service which confirmed that they’re preparing Palestinian detainees and prisoners in the Ofer detention centre, near Ramallah, as well as the Ketziot Prison in the Negev.

They also went through the process that they described would take place before those detainees and prisoners have been released.

In the past few minutes, we heard from the Israeli Ministry of Health saying that, to expedite [the exchange of prisoners with bodies of Israeli captives], they would try to do the identification process [of captives] at the Kerem Shalom, or Karem Abu Salem crossing with Gaza, before the manner in which those captives died can be studied and scrutinised in the Forensic Institute in Israel.

Prisoners’ Media Office announces details of Palestinian prisoners to be released

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office has published details of 620 prisoners set to be released from Israeli custody.

It says that 151 of the prisoners being released were given life or long sentences; of those 43 will be released to the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, 97 will be sent into exile, and it said that 11 were arrested from Gaza before October 7, 2023 (and presumably will be released to Gaza, but the statement does not make this clear).

It said that 445 male adult prisoners from Gaza who were arrested after October 7, 2023 and 24 female and child prisoners will also be released.

It said details of a second batch of children and women from Gaza to be released will be published later.