Red Cross officials arrive at scene of handover in Gaza’s Rafah

Four vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have arrived at the handover site in Rafah in southern Gaza.

The Red Cross officials are coordinating final details with masked Hamas commanders, who are expected to complete the handover of the captives in the next few minutes on the stage.

Red Cross conducts initial interviews with captives, signs handover documents

A representative of the Red Cross has spoken to the captives one by one in the vehicles that they were brought in at the handover site in Gaza’s Rafah.

Another Red Cross official went on stage and signed the handover documents.

Israeli captives Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham freed in Gaza’s Rafah

Captives Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham have now been handed over to the Red Cross.

They are heading to the Israeli military base in Gaza. The captives will undergo medical examinations before being reunited with family members.

• Avera Mengistu, a 37-year-old Ethiopian Israeli dual national, who entered Gaza on his own in September 2014 and was picked up by a Hamas patrol.
• Tal Shoham, a 39-year-old dual Israeli Austrian citizen who was taken captive on October 7, 2023 while visiting family in Kibbutz Be’eri.

Hamas says captive release reflects unity of Palestinians

The Palestinian group says the release of six captives reaffirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement, accusing Israel of delaying its implementation.

“The handover comes in a majestic national scene, reflecting the unity of our people and factions, while the occupation is experiencing a state of fragmentation and exchange of accusations,” a statement by Hamas said.

It added: “The huge public presence during the handover of the six enemy prisoners today carries a renewed message to the enemy and its supporters: The cohesion between our people and their resistance is deep-rooted and solid.”

Hamas also reaffirmed its “readiness to move to the second phase of the agreement and willingness to complete a comprehensive exchange process, which will achieve a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of the occupation”.


_{The handover location in Rafah, southern Gaza}

Israeli army says it received two released captives in Gaza

The two Israeli captives were freed by Hamas in Rafah in southern Gaza minutes ago. They are currently being escorted by soldiers and intelligence officers to Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical evaluation, a military statement said.

Hamas uses release of Israeli captives to speak to world audience

Hamas continues to stage elaborate ceremonies for the release of Israeli captives in Gaza in a bid to signal they are responsible stakeholders by “showing the whole world that they were trying to keep them alive, keep them safe”, an analyst says.

Speaking to Al Jazeera before the release of captives, Professor Sami Al-Arian from Istanbul Zaim University said the handover spectacles also double as a way for the group to preempt Israeli efforts to frame the narrative.

“They’re showing the whole world the conditions and also that this is going to be done in a very responsible way,” Al-Arian said.

Discussing Trump’s plan to force Palestinians to leave Gaza, Netanyahu’s political manoeuvring and a recent Arab leaders’ plan for the reconstruction of the enclave, Al-Arian said any Arab initiative would work to Trump’s advantage.

“I think that’s probably [Trump’s] intention, to get the Arabs to move,” he said.

“Because his real intention is to make sure that Hamas will not be in power in Gaza after this is over, he doesn’t want an assumption of the war, this is going to actually divert him from his agenda, domestically and internationally.”

‘Seize this opportunity’ to bring back all captives: Israeli captive’s family

The family of released Israeli captive Tal Shoham has hailed “an unforgettable moment” when he was released from the Gaza Strip as part of the ceasefire deal, joining a chorus of other families and supporters calling for the second phase of the ceasefire to be upheld.

“At this crucial moment in our lives, our only request is to seize this window of opportunity to secure a deal that will bring fathers back to their children – children need their fathers – and return all hostages home: The living for rehabilitation and the deceased for eternal rest,” they said in a statement.

“There is a window of opportunity; we must not miss it,” they added.

The family of Avera Mengistu also celebrated his release after “enduring 10 years and five months of unimaginable suffering”.

“During this time, there have been continuous efforts to secure his return, with prayers and pleas, some silent, that remained unanswered until today.”

Vehicles believed to be carrying captives arrive at handover location in Nuseirat

A convoy of vehicles that is believed to be carrying three Israeli captives has arrived at a handover location in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.

Cohen, Wenkert and Shem Tov are expected to emerge from the vehicles shortly and walk over to the stage after an initial interview with a Red Cross representative.

Three Israeli captives appear on stage in Nuseirat

Israeli captives Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert and Omer Shem Tov have appeared on stage at the handover location in Nuseirat.

They are smiling and gesturing to a cheering crowd of Palestinians. One of the captives kissed the forehead of a Palestinian fighter standing next to him.

Israeli army says it receives three freed captives from Nuseirat

The Israeli military says Israeli captives Cohen, Wenkert and Shem Tov have been handed over by the Red Cross to the army.

They are en route to Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment.

It also said the military is prepared to receive the sixth captive, who is due to be transferred to the Red Cross soon.

Last-minute change of plans for release of sixth captive

There seems to be a last-minute change of plans on the release of the captives.

When we arrived here in the morning to check with the people on the ground, including Hamas commanders, they confirmed that four people would be released in Nuseirat.

But it is now confirmed that three will be released from the refugee camp and a fourth from Gaza City without any ceremony or any of the scenes that we are watching in Nuseirat.

It looks like the handover in Gaza City is going to be quiet with the public handover ceremonies only taking place in Rafah and Nuseirat.

Footage shows handover of Israeli captive Hisham al-Sayed in Gaza City

A footage shared by our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic shows a handover of the sixth Israeli captive, Hisham al-Sayed, by the armed wing of Hamas, Qassam Brigades, to the Red Cross in Gaza City.

In the video, we see a convoy of Red Cross vehicles parked in a street amid damaged buildings, a small number of Palestinian fighter standing in the street, a couple of female Red Cross officials approaching a vehicle parked on the other side of the street, a man emerging from that vehicle and walking over to the Red Cross convoy together with the Red Cross officials.

Hamas urges Israel to implement terms of ceasefire in full

Abdul Latif al-Qanou, a spokesman for Hamas, says Israel’s “commitment to the remaining terms of the agreement and the implementation of the humanitarian protocol” would guarantee the completion of the future captive-prisoner exchange operations.

He said in a statement on Telegram: “33 days have passed since the first phase started without the occupation completing the full implementation of the terms of the agreement.”

“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic, which requires mediators to pressure the occupation to implement the humanitarian protocol and provide our people with shelter and relief supplies,” the spokesman added.

Netanyahu not interested in phase two of ceasefire: Israeli ex-official

The ceasefire in Gaza has been fragile, but it has also mostly held and the exchanges worked, says Alon Pinkas, former ambassador and consul general of Israel in New York.

He added that the fact that the first phase held does not necessarily bode well for the more challenging second phase.

“The reason is that Netanyahu is not interested in phase two. This phase will include Israeli force reduction in Gaza on day 42, which is a week from now. On day 50, it includes not just a force reduction, but a withdrawal,” Pinkas told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.

He said the ceasefire will turn from a cessation of hostilities, as it is known now, to an end to the war, which is not something the Israeli prime minister favours.

“Politically, he can afford neither the withdrawal nor the official end of the war,” he said.

Pinkas pointed out that according to the agreement, if phase two is not implemented, then phase one automatically continues.

“But only the ceasefire aspect continues, not the exchanges or the force reduction or eventual withdrawal, which all bodes badly for the durability of the ceasefire.”

Netanyahu, his government playing ‘dirty games’ on second phase: Hamas

Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas political bureau, reminds that negotiations for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire were supposed to start on day 16 of the first phase, and continue up to the moment all points of the second phase were agreed upon.

“Unfortunately, Netanyahu and his government have been rejecting to engage with the second phase while only one week is left from the first phase. We believe that again, these are dirty games from the right-wing government to sabotage and undermine the deal and to send a message of willingness to go back to war,” he told Al Jazeera.

He said Hamas remains committed to the deal, and has abided by its obligations under the deal, while it has met violations of the first phase and rejection to take part in the second phase.

“Over 100 Palestinians have been killed in the first phase, much of the agreed humanitarian aid was not allowed into Gaza, and the withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor was postponed,” Naim said.

Hamas says ready to free all remaining captives at once if conditions met

Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, says the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the group, has forced Israel “to cross the red lines it set for itself on [Palestinian] prisoner release, breaking the shackles of a number of symbols of the prisoner movement”.

He stressed that Hamas confirms its seriousness in completing all stages of the captive-prisoner exchange operations.

The group is ready “to carry out a single [prisoner] exchange operation in the second stage in exchange for the occupation’s commitment to a sustainable ceasefire, withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of our prisoners from its prisons”, Qassem added.

Hamas ready to abandon governance role in Gaza: Naim

We have more from Hamas politburo member Basem Naim, who has discussed the rhetoric and actions by Arab leaders and also the US and the future of Gaza.

“We have said many times, even before October 7 [2023], that we are willing immediately to leave the governing position in the Gaza Strip and to allow any Palestinian unity government or a technocratic government or any alternative which is decided by Palestinians within the Palestinian consensus,” he said.

Naim said the group welcomes an Egyptian proposal to form a committee tasked with governing all aspects of life in Gaza in coordination with the Palestinian Authority government in Ramallah.

The official added that Hamas was founded as a national Palestinian resistance movement with clear goals, including “to get rid of the occupation, to achieve the Palestinian genuine and national goals of statehood, self-determination and the right to return”.

“We will continue our struggle with all other factions and all our people to achieve these goals through all means, including political and diplomatic means and armed resistance. But to run the daily lives of Palestinians, like health, education and social affairs, we are ready to leave it to a consensus-based solution.”

More than 100 women, children among 491 Palestinian prisoners to be released to Gaza

The crews of the Red Cross are now facilitating the transfer of 491 Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons and providing services to them during the journey back to the Gaza Strip.

They conducted pre-departure interviews with the detainees to check their medical condition, and the prisoners have been provided with clothes and personal equipment due to the cold weather conditions in Gaza.

The prisoners were also given means to communicate with their families in order to ensure that they are fully aware of the release of their loved ones.

At the European Hospital in Khan Younis, families are waiting for the arrival of the buses of the Red Cross. The prisoners will undergo medical examinations at the hospital and will later be reunited with their families.

It is worth noting that more than 100 Palestinian women and children under the age of 19 will be released today.

This has been a very emotional and overwhelming day for the families, many of whom had not received any updates about the fate of their loved ones. Some confirmed to us today that they believed the prisoners were killed by the Israeli military during the war.

Nael Barghouti symbolises the plight of Palestinian prisoners

His story is one that brings home what Palestinian prisoners mean to Palestine. This is a people who have seen more than one million Palestinians imprisoned by Israel over the course of the occupation.

Up to 40 percent of males have been taken at one point or another into Israeli custody, and so there is a reverence for Palestinian prisoners.

In Palestinian society, they’re seen as having sacrificed their freedom for the freedom of their nation. And nobody has done that more than Nael Barghouti, having spent 45 years in Israeli imprisonment.

He will be exiled, expelled from his homeland and taken to Egypt until a country says it is willing to host him.

Israel has barred his family from travelling to Egypt to receive him.

‘Incomprehensible Brutality’: Israel’s Mass Torture of Palestinian Prisoners

Basil Farraj, Assistant Professor at Birzeit University in Palestine, joins the show to discuss how Israel is set to release 602 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, bringing the total freed to 1,737 as part of the ceasefire deal. Farraj discusses the brutal conditions of Israeli detention, where systematic torture, starvation, and abuse have left many prisoners in critical condition, while Israeli captives released appear unscathed by comparison.

Israeli military may deploy tanks to occupied West Bank

The Israeli army may deploy tanks to the northern occupied West Bank for the first time in 23 years, an Israeli media outlet reports.

According to Channel 14, citing anonymous sources, the political leadership is “pressuring for the inclusion of tanks in the ongoing military operation in the northern West Bank”.

The tanks “could soon participate in the military operation”, the sources indicated.​

The move comes during an escalating Israeli attack across several northern West Bank governorates, particularly targeting Palestinian refugee camps for the 34th day in a row.

Israeli forces storm occupied West Bank town near Nablus

Several residents of Qusra, a town south of Nablus, have suffered breathing problems after Israeli forces stormed the area, Wafa news agency reports.

Antisettlement activist Fouad Hassan told Wafa that the Israeli army opened fire and shelled the area with tear gas.


Footage shows Israeli settlers attacking East Jerusalem town

Palestine TV reports Israelis from illegal settlements attacked residents in the fields of Jaba. Footage shared by local platforms, and verified by Al Jazeera, showed fires, rising smoke, and residents mobilising.

Since Israel unleashed its bombing campaign in Gaza, settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem have more than doubled from an average of three to eight incidents a day, according to the United Nations.

More than 700,000 settlers – 10 percent of Israel’s nearly seven million population – now live in 150 settlements and 128 outposts dotting the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

More settler attacks reported in the occupied West Bank

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports a group of Israeli settlers under the protection of Israeli forces attacked the town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah.

Wafa said the settlers stole about 800 sheep, three horses, two donkeys, and water tanks from local residents. Israeli forces then raided the town and stormed a home, confiscating the security camera footage from the property.

Nael Barghouthi faces exile after 45 years in prison

With 45 years behind bars, the world’s longest-serving prisoner, Nael Barghouthi, is expected to be one of the 620 Palestinians released in the coming hours. He is set to be exiled.

In 2011, Nael was released in a soldier-prisoner swap deal, only to be re-arrested less than three years later. His wife, Eman, only spent 32 months with him before he got re-arrested.