More than 300,000 Palestinian civilians have returned to northern Gaza from the Rafah border and the southern Gaza Strip after 15 months of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Israel allowed Palestinian civilians to return to northern Gaza yesterday, Monday, January 27, following a ceasefire on January 19.
More than 1 million people fled south after the war began. According to Al Jazeera’s report, more than 47,000 people have been killed and more than 1.10 lakh injured due to Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Under the ceasefire deal, it was decided that Israel would allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza from January 25. However, it was delayed by 2 days due to a dispute between Israel and Hamas.
Images of Palestinians returning to northern Gaza…
Hamas said – People’s return to their homes is a defeat for Israel Hamas has called the return of displaced people from Gaza a victory. Hamas said that Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza has failed. People’s return to their homes is a sign of Israel’s defeat. Israel opened the Netzerim corridor at 9 am on Monday.
According to the BBC, two hundred thousand displaced Palestinians managed to enter the Gaza border on foot within two hours of the opening of the Netzerim corridor. According to the report, the border was opened to vehicles two hours later.
Israel says 8 hostages died in Hamas custody Israel said that 8 of the 33 hostages on the list released by Hamas have already been killed. Government spokesman David Mansour confirmed this. This means that Hamas will release only 18 hostages in the coming days. Israel has so far released 7 hostages in the first phase of the ceasefire.
Hamas to release 6 more Israeli hostages this week Hamas will release 6 Israeli civilians this week under a ceasefire agreement. They will be released in two batches of 3 on Thursday and Saturday. In exchange, Israel allowed Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza to return from Monday, January 27.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave this information. The hostages who were released include two women, Arbel Yehud and Agar Berger. They were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Israel had demanded the release of Arbel Yehud along with four female hostages released last week on Saturday. However, Hamas did not release Arbel on Saturday. Israel called this a violation of the ceasefire.
7 Israeli hostages and over 300 Palestinians released
So far, Hamas has released 7 Israeli hostages under the ceasefire agreement. All of them are women. In exchange, Israel has released more than 300 Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas handed over a list of the remaining hostages to Israel on Sunday. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on January 19. The first phase of the ceasefire is for 42 days, during which all Israeli hostages will be released.
Israel did not receive the list until Saturday, which it called a violation of the ceasefire, delaying the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza.
Israel to release nearly 700 Palestinian prisoners
The ceasefire deal will be completed in 3 phases. In the first phase, Hamas will release 33 hostages kidnapped from Israel. Also, the Israeli army will withdraw 700 meters from the Gaza border. The Ministry of Justice in Israel has also released a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners who will be released in the first phase. This includes 69 women, 16 men and 10 minors.
Israel will release more than 700 Palestinian prisoners. A list of their names has also been released. Many of those on the list are serving life sentences on murder charges, including members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Hamas entered Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages. A few hours later, the Israeli army attacked Gaza.
The ceasefire deal will be completed in three phases.
On January 15, Joe Biden said that the deal would begin in three phases, starting Sunday, January 19. The hostage exchange would last 42 days.
- There will be a complete ceasefire in Gaza from January 19 to March 1. Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages. Israel will release 33 Palestinian prisoners every day in exchange for one of its hostages. For every Israeli female soldier, 50 Palestinian prisoners will be released.
Second stage:
- If everything goes well by the 16th day of the first phase, i.e. 3rd February, then talks on the second phase plan will begin. No attacks will be carried out during this period. The remaining surviving hostages will be released.
- Israel will release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including about 190 who have been serving sentences for more than 15 years.
Third stage:
- The final phase of the deal will see the rehabilitation of Gaza. This will take 3 to 5 years. The bodies of hostages killed by Hamas will also be handed over to Israel.