Palestinian militants arrive at Gaza site before hostage handover
Militants from Hamas and allied groups Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees arrived at a site in Khan Younis in Gaza ahead of the handover of Israeli hostages on Thursday Hamas sources and witnesses said, as part of a ceasefire deal.
Three Israeli hostages are expected to be freed on Thursday in return for 110 Palestinian prisoners.
The spokesman of the Islamic Jihad armed wing said on the Telegram platform that the group “completed procedures to hand over two Israeli hostages”.
Dozens of armed militants arrived on the street where Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar was killed during the Gaza war with Israel, which has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and turned the tiny coastal enclave into a wasteland of rubble.
Palestinian Hamas militants stand guard in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 30, 2025.
Islamic Jihad airs footage of two Israeli hostages to be freed Thursday
Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad aired footage of two Israeli hostages to be released from Gaza on Thursday as part of a ceasefire deal between its ally Hamas and Israel.
The two captives, Gadi Moses and Arbel Yehoud, were seen hugging each other and smiling in the video clip filmed at an unknown location. They are expected to be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in the south Gaza city of Khan Younis at around 0900 GMT, an Islamic Jihad source told AFP.
Who is being released today?
The Israelis set to be released are Arbel Yehoud, 29, Agam Berger, 20 – who was abducted along with four other female soldiers who were freed Saturday – and Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man. The identities of the Thai nationals who will be released were not immediately known.
A number of foreign workers were taken captive along with dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that set off the war. Twenty-three Thais were among more than 100 hostages released during a week-long ceasefire in November 2023. Israel says eight remain.
Of the people set to be released from Israel’s prisons, 30 are believed to be minors, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said. Thirty more are serving life sentences after having been convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis.
Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former militant leader and theater director who took part in a dramatic jailbreak in 2021 before being rearrested days later, is also among those set to be released.
Israel, Hamas poised for third hostage-prisoner exchange
Israel and Hamas were set to carry out their third hostage-prisoner exchange on Thursday, with three Israelis and five Thai captives slated for release as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war.
A fourth exchange is scheduled for the weekend, but Hamas accused Israel on Wednesday of jeopardising the deal by holding up aid deliveries, an allegation Israel dismissed as “fake news”.
The office of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu identified the three Israelis to be released Thursday as Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger and Gadi Moses, adding that five Thai citizens held in Gaza would also be freed.
Israel is to release 110 prisoners, 30 of them minors, in exchange for the three Israelis to be released on Thursday, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said.
Israel cuts ties with UN aid agency supporting Palestinians
Israel will cut ties with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday following accusations it provided cover for Hamas militants, a move likely to hamper delivery of its vital services after 15 months of war in Gaza.
The agency, UNRWA, will be banned from operating on Israeli soil, and contact between it and Israeli officials will also be forbidden.
UNRWA has provided support for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East for more than 70 years, but has long clashed with Israeli officials, who have repeatedly accused it of undermining the country’s security.
The agency’s offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision of healthcare and education to Palestinians, including those living in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by the war between Israel and Hamas.
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