DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
Sixth captive to be handed over by Hamas to Israeli authorities in Gaza Metropolis and not using a ceremony.
Hamas has launched 5 Israeli captives from Gaza in trade for a whole lot of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons within the closing swap beneath the primary part of the ceasefire between the Palestinian group and Israel.
The primary two captives, Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, have been handed over to the Purple Cross in Rafah in southern Gaza on Saturday after they have been led onto a stage by armed Hamas fighters.
Three extra captives – Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert and Omer Shem Tov – have been later launched to Purple Cross officers in Nuseirat in central Gazain a separate ceremony.
Palestinian sources advised Al Jazeera that Hisham al-Sayed, the sixth captive, will probably be handed over to Israeli authorities and not using a ceremony.
The 37-year-old Bedouin Israeli, who was taken captive when he entered Gaza in April 2015, is anticipated to be handed over at a location in Gaza Metropolis within the northern a part of the enclave.
The six are the final from a bunch of 33 to be freed within the first stage of the ceasefire, which took impact on January 19.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Nuseirat, stated a big crowd has gathered to witness the discharge of the three captives.
“We see reinforcements from the Qassam Brigades with a purpose to preserve order and security of the method,” he reported, referring to Hamas’s armed wing. “In contrast with previous handovers, the scene right here at Nuseirat seems extra organised.”
Our correspondent stated that Hamas didn’t give any reason why there was a last-minute change of the plan to launch 4 captives in Nuseirat.
Chatting with Al Jazeera earlier than the discharge, Professor Sami al-Arian from Istanbul Zaim College stated the frilly staging of the handover is a method for Hamas to sign it’s accountable stakeholders by “displaying the entire world that they have been making an attempt to maintain them [the captives] alive, hold them secure”.
Afterward Saturday, Israel is anticipated to launch 602 Palestinians held in its jails. It consists of 445 individuals detained by Israeli forces throughout its conflict on Gaza in addition to dozens serving prolonged or life phrases, in line with Hamas.
The delicate ceasefire had been threatened with derailment by the misidentification of a physique launched on Thursday as that of Shiri Bibas, who was taken captive together with her two younger sons and husband within the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, assaults on southern Israel.
Late on Friday, Hamas handed over Bibas’s physique, which her household stated had been confirmed to be hers.
