The third Israeli released on Thursday was Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man. Five Thai nationals were freed, but were not officially identified.
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Hamas had earlier handed Berger, 20, to the Red Cross after parading her in front of a crowd in the heavily destroyed urban refugee camp of Jabaliya in northern Gaza. The Israeli government later released footage of Berger hugging and crying with her parents.
Berger was among five female soldiers abducted in the October 7, 2023 attack that precipitated the latest war. The other four were released on Saturday.
People cheered, clapped and whistled at a square in Tel Aviv where supporters of the hostages watched Berger’s handover on big screens next to a large clock that’s counted the days since the hostages were taken.
Of the people set to be released from prisons in Israel, 30 were serving life sentences after being convicted of attacks against Israelis. Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former militant leader and theatre director who took part in a dramatic jailbreak in 2021 before being rearrested days later, was also among those expected to be released.
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As part of the ceasefire deal, Israel on Monday began allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, the most heavily destroyed part of the territory. Many found only mounds of rubble where their homes had been.
In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is set to release a total of 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, older adults and sick or wounded men, in exchange for nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says Hamas had confirmed that eight of the hostages to be released in this phase were dead.
The deal calls for Israel and Hamas to negotiate a second phase in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages and the ceasefire would continue indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an ongoing agreement is not reached.
Hamas says it won’t release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The war started when Hamas sent thousands of fighters into Israel, killing some 1200 people and abducting around 250 others.
The Israeli offensive has transformed entire neighbourhoods into mounds of grey rubble, and it’s unclear how or when anything will be rebuilt. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and around 90 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced.
AP
