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Israel frees 90 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire takes hold after Hamas returns 3 Israeli hostages

Israel frees 90 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire takes hold after Hamas returns 3 Israeli hostages
A female Palestinian prisoner is greeted after disembarking from a bus following her release from an Israeli prison, in the West Bank city of Beitunia, on Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 20 January 2025

Israel frees 90 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire takes hold after Hamas returns 3 Israeli hostages

Israel frees 90 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire takes hold after Hamas returns 3 Israeli hostages
  • Palestinians across Gaza return home as first trucks with humanitarian aid enter devastated territory
  • Israel’s military, which occupies the West Bank, had warned Palestinians against public celebration

RAMALLAH, West Bank: The first three hostages were released from Gaza and the first Palestinian prisoners were freed from Israeli custody as the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold following 15 months of war, with mixed emotions and more difficult steps ahead over the next six weeks.
Palestinians across Gaza began making their way home, and the first trucks with a surge of humanitarian aid began to enter the devastated territory.
The ceasefire that began on Sunday morning raises hopes for ending the devastating conflict and returning the nearly 100 remaining hostages abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. But major questions remain about whether fighting will resume after the six-week first phase.
First came the release of Emily Damari, 28; Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, in a tense handover to the Red Cross on a Gaza City street. Footage showed them surrounded by a crowd of thousands, accompanied by masked, armed men wearing green Hamas headbands.
The women were taken to Israeli forces and then into Israel, where they hugged family members fiercely and wept. Damari was shown raising her bandaged hand in triumph. The military said she lost two fingers in the Oct. 7 attack.
In Tel Aviv, thousands of people who gathered to watch the news on large screens erupted in applause. For months, many had gathered in the square weekly to demand a ceasefire deal.
“An entire nation embraces you,†Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Over seven hours later, the first Palestinian prisoners were released. They had been detained for what Israel called offenses related to its security, from throwing stones to more serious accusations such as attempted murder.
Israel’s military, which occupies the West Bank, warned Palestinians against public celebration — the release took place after 1 a.m. — but crowds thronged the buses after they left the prison, some people climbing on top or waving flags, including those of Hamas.
There were fireworks and whistles, and shouts of “God is great.†Those released were hoisted onto others’ shoulders or embraced.
The most prominent detainee freed was Khalida Jarrar, 62, a member of a secular leftist faction that was involved in attacks against Israel in the 1970s but later scaled back militant activities. Since her arrest in late 2023, she was held under indefinitely renewable administrative detention orders that were criticized by human rights groups.
The next release of hostages and prisoners is due on Saturday, with 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be freed over the ceasefire’s 42-day first phase. In just over two weeks, talks are to begin on the far more challenging second phase.
This is just the second ceasefire in the war, longer and more consequential than a weeklong pause in November 2023, with the potential to end the fighting for good.
But Netanyahu, who had been under pressure from both the Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump to achieve a deal before Monday’s US inauguration, has said he has Trump’s backing to continue fighting if necessary.
Meanwhile, Israel’s hard-line national security minister said his Jewish Power faction was quitting the government in protest over the ceasefire, reflecting the political friction that some Israelis said delayed a deal. Itamar Ben-Gvir’s departure weakens Netanyahu’s coalition but will not affect the truce.
‘Joy mixed with pain’
Across Gaza, there was relief and grief. The fighting has killed tens of thousands, destroyed large areas and displaced most of the population.
“This ceasefire was a joy mixed with pain, because my son was martyred in this war,†said Rami Nofal, a displaced man from Gaza City.
Masked militants appeared at some celebrations, where crowds chanted slogans in support of them, according to Associated Press reporters in Gaza. The Hamas-run police began deploying in public after mostly lying low due to Israeli airstrikes.
Some families set off for home on foot, their belongings loaded on donkey carts.
In the southern city of Rafah, residents returned to find massive destruction. Some found human remains in the rubble, including skulls.
“It’s like you see in a Hollywood horror movie,†resident Mohamed Abu Taha said as he inspected the ruins of his family’s home.
Already, Israeli forces were pulling back from areas. Residents of Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya in northern Gaza told the AP they didn’t see Israeli troops there.
One resident said they saw bodies in the streets that appeared to have been there for weeks.
Israelis divided over deal
In Israel, people remained divided over the agreement.
Asher Pizem, 35, from the city of Sderot, said the deal had merely postponed the next confrontation with Hamas. He also criticized Israel for allowing aid into Gaza, saying it would contribute to the militant group’s revival.
“They will take the time and attack again,†he said while viewing Gaza’s smoldering ruins from a small hill in southern Israel with other Israelis gathered there.
When President Joe Biden was asked Sunday whether he has any concerns about Hamas regrouping, he said no.
Immense toll
The toll of the war has been immense, and new details will now emerge. The head of the Rafah municipality in Gaza, Ahmed Al-Sufi, said a large part of the infrastructure, including water, electricity and road networks, was destroyed, in addition to thousands of homes.
There should be a surge of humanitarian aid, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza daily, far more than Israel allowed before. The UN humanitarian agency said more than 630 trucks with aid entered on Sunday, with at least 300 going to hard-hit northern Gaza.
“This is a moment of tremendous hope,†humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said.
Over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the fatalities but does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and militants abducted around 250 others. More than 100 hostages were freed during the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
Some 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced. Rebuilding — if the ceasefire reaches its final phase — will take several years at least. Major questions about Gaza’s future, political and otherwise, remain unresolved.


Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after Gaza strikes

Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after Gaza strikes
Updated 20 October 2025

Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after Gaza strikes

Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after Gaza strikes
  • He suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches and instead blamed “some rebels withinâ€
  • “But either way, it’s going to be handled properly. It’s going to be handled toughly, but properly,†Trump added

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was still in effect after the Israeli military carried out deadly strikes on Gaza over apparent truce violations by the Palestinian armed group.
“Yeah, it is,†Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked if the ceasefire was still in place. He also suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches and instead blamed “some rebels within.â€
“But either way, it’s going to be handled properly. It’s going to be handled toughly, but properly,†Trump added.
Israel said it had resumed enforcing the Gaza ceasefire after it struck Hamas positions Sunday, having accused the group of targeting its troops in the most serious violence since the nine-day-old truce began.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said at least 45 people had been killed across the territory in Israeli strikes. Israel’s military said it was looking into the reports of casualties.
Trump expressed hope that the ceasefire he helped broker would hold.
“We want to make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas,†he said.
“As you know, they’ve been quite rambunctious. They’ve been doing some shooting, and we think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that.â€
Shortly before Trump’s comments, his vice president, JD Vance, downplayed the renewed violence in Gaza, telling reporters there would be “fits and starts†in the truce.
“Hamas is going to fire on Israel. Israel is going to have to respond,†he said.
“So we think that it has the best chance for a sustainable peace. But even if it does that, it’s going to have hills and valleys, and we’re going to have to monitor the situation.â€
The truce in the Palestinian territory, which took effect on October 10, halted more than two years of devastating war that has seen Israel kill tens of thousands and reduce much of Gaza to rubble, after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
The deal established the outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges, and was proposed alongside an ambitious roadmap for Gaza’s future. But it has quickly faced challenges to its implementation.
Vance called on Gulf Arab countries to establish a “security infrastructure†in order to ensure that Hamas is disarmed, a key part of the peace deal.
“The Gulf Arab states, our allies, don’t have the security infrastructure in place yet to confirm that Hamas is disarmed,†he said.
Vance said that a member of the Trump administration was “certainly†going to visit Israel “in the next few days†to monitor the situation.
He did not confirm who that would be, but said “it might be me.â€
 


Tunnels, cages, pits: Relatives of Gaza hostages recount dire conditions in captivity

Tunnels, cages, pits: Relatives of Gaza hostages recount dire conditions in captivity
Updated 42 min 1 sec ago

Tunnels, cages, pits: Relatives of Gaza hostages recount dire conditions in captivity

Tunnels, cages, pits: Relatives of Gaza hostages recount dire conditions in captivity
  • UN-backed experts reported in August that part of the territory was facing famine, a claim disputed by Israel

TEL AVIV: Relatives of the last Israeli hostages released from Gaza after two years in captivity said their loved ones endured harrowing conditions, with some reportedly held in cages, pits or underground tunnels.
Last week, Hamas freed all 20 surviving hostages as agreed in a US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel.
Among them was Omri Miran.
“At the beginning, there were five hostages in a cage measuring 1.8 meters by 1.6 meters (six feet by five),†his brother Boaz Miran told Israel Hayom newspaper.
“You can’t stand up in there, you have to bend.â€
Fellow hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal was 24 at the time of his abduction in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that triggered the war.
He was held captive by Palestinian militants together with his childhood friend Evyatar David.
In August, Hamas released a propaganda video showing David severely malnourished and visibly weakened as he was seen digging his own grave inside a tunnel.
“We have all seen the video of Evyatar David in captivity — he was nothing but skin and bones,†said Guy Gilboa Dalal’s brother Gal.
“Guy was in exactly the same condition,†he told AFP.
“Hamas starved them in order to turn them into visible examples of hunger,†he said, referring to the food scarcity that resulted from a blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip earlier this year after a previous ceasefire broke down.
UN-backed experts reported in August that part of the territory was facing famine, a claim disputed by Israel.
The hostage’s brother also described psychological abuse.
“They were told multiple lies — that the Israeli army was looking for them in order to kill them. They were shown other hostages who, they were told, had been deliberately killed by Israeli forces,†Gal Gilboa Dalal said.
“They have a very long road ahead of them, physically and mentally,†he added.
Contacted by AFP, a Hamas official speaking on condition of anonymity said the Palestinian Islamist movement and its allies “treated the detainees under their custody in accordance with the teachings of Islam, in a very ethical and humane manner.â€
The official said the hostages “lived in the same conditions as their guards†and received “medical and psychological care and food according to what was available in Gaza.â€
“No captive was subjected to insults or torture... unlike the treatment of Palestinian prisoners by (Israel),†the official claimed.
While none of the 20 former hostages has yet spoken publicly, their relatives have relayed details of their captivity.

- Without oxygen -

In The Times of Israel on Wednesday, Tami Braslavski said her son Rom Braslavski had been flogged and beaten between April and July “with objects I won’t even mention.â€
Avinatan Or, who was held alone for two years, once attempted to escape but was caught and placed in a cage handcuffed, said his father Yaron.
“It was a wire enclosure 1.8 meters high, as long as a mattress plus a little more. You could call it a cage,†he told Israel’s public radio.
Also speaking to the national broadcaster, the father of former hostage Yosef Haim Ohana said his son “spent several days in an underground pit with six other captives, without enough room to sit or lie down and with barely enough air to survive.â€
“(Their captors) put seven men in one pit,†said Avi Ohana. “They couldn’t sit, only lean against the wall while standing. There was no oxygen.â€
Hamas and other Palestinian Islamist groups abducted 251 hostages from Israel on October 7, 2023 and took them to the Gaza Strip, both living and dead.
More than 200 of them were returned to Israel during two ceasefires in late 2023 and early 2025, or were rescued in Israeli army operations.
At the start of October, there were still 48 living and dead hostages in Gaza, including the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in 2014.
Under the terms of a US-brokered ceasefire that entered into force on October 10, Hamas and its allies released the 20 last living hostages.
In the days since, it has so far returned 12 bodies out of the 28 it was still holding.
Israel said it had released 1,968 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange for the last living hostages, and has also handed over 150 bodies of Palestinians in return for the remains of 10 deceased Israeli hostages.
Remains of two other hostages returned were that of a Nepalese student and a Thai farmworker.
 

 


Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on Sunday

Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on Sunday
Updated 19 October 2025

Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on Sunday

Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on Sunday
  • First Israeli fatalities since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10
  • Israeli military said Sunday it had resumed enforcing a ceasefire in Gaza

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said two soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday, as it carried out a series of strikes in the area, accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire.
Major Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21, “fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip,†the military said, the first Israeli fatalities since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.
The Israeli military said Sunday it had resumed enforcing a ceasefire in Gaza.
“In accordance with the directive of the political echelon, and following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas’ violations, the IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire,†the military said in a statement.
“The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it.â€


Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday

Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday
Updated 19 October 2025

Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday

Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday
  • Fatalities were confirmed by Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital and Al-Awda hospital
  • Israel and Hamas traded blame for violating a ceasefire

GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency and hospitals said a series of Israeli air strikes across the territory killed at least 45 people on Sunday, updating an earlier toll of 33.
The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, as both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the nine-day-old ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.
“At least 45 people were killed as a result of Israeli air strikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip,†Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas authority, told AFP.
Four hospitals in Gaza confirmed the death toll to AFP, saying they had received the dead and wounded.
Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat reported 24 dead and 73 wounded from multiple strikes in central Gaza.
Al-Aqsa Hospital said it received 12 dead from nearby bombings, while Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis reported five dead, and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed four fatalities.
Earlier, Bassal detailed several of the strikes.
He said six people were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a “group of civilians†in Zuwaida town in central Gaza.
Six other people, including children, were killed and 13 others injured in two separate strikes near Nuseirat in central Gaza, Bassal said.
A woman and two children were killed when a drone strike hit a tent housing displaced people near Asdaa City, north of Khan Yunis.
Two people, including a journalist, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike in the western part of Zuwaida town in central Gaza.
In another attack, two people were killed and several injured when an Israeli strike hit a tent in the Al-Ahli Club area in Nuseirat, central Gaza, Bassal said.
Two more people were killed in an Israeli air strike in eastern Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, he added.
One individual was killed in a strike on an apartment in a building in western Gaza City, the civil defense agency said.
The others succumbed later on Sunday to injuries received in these strikes, Bassal said.
The Israeli military told AFP it was checking reports of casualties.
Later on Sunday, the Israeli military said it has resumed enforcing the ceasefire in Gaza.


Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas

Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas
Updated 19 October 2025

Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas

Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas
  • Parts of the main square in Tubas bulldozed, private properties damaged and several homes converted into Israeli military posts

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished a residential apartment in the northern occupied West Bank city of Tubas as troops on Sunday launched a large-scale raid for a second consecutive day.

Forces stormed an apartment building, forcibly removed its residents, and planted explosives before detonating them, resulting in an explosion that was heard across the city, according to the Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces bulldozed parts of the main square in Tubas, damaged private properties, and converted several homes into military posts after forcing residents to evacuate. Forces also blocked the southern entrance to Tubas with dirt mounds, detaining several Palestinians for field interrogations, Wafa added.

Tubas and the northern Jordan Valley have faced frequent Israeli military incursions recently, leading to home demolitions, raids, and detentions. Israel has maintained a military occupation of the West Bank since June 1967, which is considered illegal under international law.

Additionally, Israel has pursued a policy of expanding settlements in the territory, which observers view as a significant obstacle to resolving the conflict and establishing a Palestinian state.