2nd phase of Gaza cease-fire deal frees 200 Palestinians, four Israeli soldiers

Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Israel implemented the second phase of a cease-fire deal in Gaza, which saw the release of hundreds of Palestinian inmates and several Israeli captives on Saturday.
As part of the exchange, the second since the truce took effect last Sunday, four freed Israeli women captives, all soldiers, arrived home in Israel after more than 15 months of captivity in Gaza.
In exchange, Israel’s prison service confirmed that 200 Palestinian prisoners were freed.
The Israeli captives, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, all aged 20, and Liri Albag, 19, waved, smiled, and gave thumbs up as they were paraded on a stage in Gaza City.
Soon after, buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners were seen departing from the Israeli Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank.
The releases on either side were welcomed by cheering crowds, including Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv and Palestinians assembled in Ramallah.
As dozens of the former prisoners reached the West Bank city, crowds of Palestinians erupted in joy, lifting many of them onto their shoulders.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said among those to be released was Mohammed al-Tous, 69, who has spent the longest continuous period in Israeli detention.
Bassem Naim, of the Hamas political bureau, had told AFP on Friday that Palestinians displaced by the war to southern Gaza should have been able to begin returning to the north following Saturday’s releases.
But Israel on Saturday said it would block such returns until civilian woman captive Arbel Yehud is released.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said she “was supposed to be released today” but a Hamas source told AFP Yehud will be “released as part of the third swap set for next Saturday.”
The truce has brought a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into the rubble-strewn Gaza Strip.
The captive-prisoner exchange is part of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect on January 19 is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the devastating war.
The cease-fire agreement should be implemented in three phases, but the last two stages have not yet been finalized.
During the first, 42-day phase, the 33 captives Israel believes are still alive should be freed in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Three female captives returned home on the first day of the truce in exchange for 90 Palestinians.
Israel launched the war on Gaza after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity on October 7, 2023 in response to the regime’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.
More than 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’ operation against Israel.
Israel’s strikes on Gaza have also killed more than 47,000 Palestinians.
Almost the entire Gaza population of 2.4 million has been displaced by the war.

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