After repeatedly violating the truce deal with Israel, Hamas will release three additional hostages on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem announced on Sunday night.
The hostages to be released are civilian Arbel Yehud, IDF soldier Agam Berger and an unidentified male captive. Three more abductees are to be freed on Saturday, in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire.
“Following the conducting of vigorous and determined negotiations led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas has backtracked and will carry out an additional phase of releasing hostages this Thursday,” the PMO said on Monday morning.
In parallel, the PMO confirmed receipt from Hamas of a communication saying how many of the hostages to be released in the six-week first stage of the truce are alive.
Hamas failed to provide the list on Saturday, as required by the terms of the ceasefire, prompting Jerusalem to postpone the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza. On Sunday, thousands of Gazans were waiting on the main roads leading north.
At 7 a.m. on Monday, Jerusalem allowed them to begin passing into northern Gaza after IDF soldiers left the Netzarim Corridor dividing the Strip. In accordance with the terms of the deal, Gazans were allowed to pass through the corridor by foot without undergoing security checks.
Vehicles were also allowed to return northward starting 9 a.m., subject to inspection by an international consortium of security companies.
In a statement, Hamas hailed the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza as “a victory for our people and a declaration of the failure and defeat of the occupation and its displacement plans.”
Israel’s Channel 12 News broadcaster aired pictures that purportedly showed armed Hamas gunmen moving alongside the noncombatant population, in an apparent breach of the deal.
Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday night that Jerusalem “will not tolerate any violation of the agreement. We will continue to act for the return of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased.”
Under the terms of the deal, Hamas was to have freed female civilian hostages before female soldiers. Instead, the Palestinian terror group released four female soldiers on Saturday: Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19.
Yehud, a civilian, is reportedly being held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group. PIJ has falsely classified Yehud as an IDF soldier, according to reports.
On Monday, Yehud’s family released a brief statement explaining that they are “living through complex, emotional, and nerve-wracking days.
“We yearn for the moment when we can embrace our Arbel again and desperately pray for the return of all the hostages,” the statement added.
Yehud was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. Cunio, 27, is presumed to be alive but is not listed among those to be released in the first phase of the agreement. The only men expected to be freed in the first phase are those ill, wounded or age 50 and above.
Shiri Bibas, 33, another female civilian hostage, and her two young sons are on the list of hostages to be released during the first phase. However, Hamas claimed in November that they had been killed.
Some of the families of hostages scheduled to be released during the current phase of the deal have been informed that there are fears for their loved ones’ lives, after Hamas provided Israel with information regarding the captives’ status on Monday.
The list did not specify the status of individuals, and instead only included an overall number of captives who are claimed to be alive.
While Israeli officials are unable to provide relatives with definitive news regarding the possible deaths of their loved ones, the numbers were said to match the intelligence Jerusalem already possessed, and therefore reinforce prior assessments regarding the status of some hostages.
Three civilian women—Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher—were released on Jan. 19 in return for 90 terrorists (30 for each civilian) shortly after the ceasefire went into effect.
