Hamas releases 13 captives, 39 Palestinians held by Israel freed

A second group of captives were released by Hamas late Saturday night in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel after United Nations' aid trucks reached northern Gaza.

Despite the four-day ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported Israeli forces were warning Gazans from heading north. A Palestinian journalist said on Sunday IDF forces were arresting and shooting Palestinians in northern Gaza. 

Around 39 Palestinians - six women and 33 minors - were freed from Israeli prisons and reunited with their families on Saturday.

Even after the releases, more than 8,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli custody, including more than 2,200 administrative detainees held without charge or trial, reported Al Jazeera, adding that Israel has also continued to arrest more Palestinians in daily raids on the occupied West Bank, even as it releases others.

Among the captives released by Hamas were 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals. 

A Palestinian official familiar with the diplomatic moves said Hamas would continue the truce, the first halt in fighting since October 7, when Israel launched an air and military invasion into Gaza following Hamas surprise raid claiming 1,200 lives and taking around 240 persons captives. 

Israel's seige, relentless bombardment and on ground offensive killed over 14,800 Palestinians in Gaza, majority of them women, children and the elderly, besides injuring and displacing thousands of people. 

Saturday's swap follows the previous day's initial release of 13 Israeli captives by Hamas in return for the release of 39 Palestinian women and teenagers from Israeli prisons.

Meanwhile, at least six Palestinians were killed in occupied West Bank on Sunday as deadly raids by the Israeli military forces continued over the weekend.

Besides, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that Israeli Occupation Forces were preventing emergency medical teams and ambulances from reaching injured persons in Jenin. It further stated that Israeli forces had besieged two hospitals in the area. 

Since October 7, Israeli forces have killed at least 229 Palestinians, including 52 children, and arrested more than 3,000 people in occupied West Bank, reported Al Jazeera.

In Gaza, the United Nations said 61 trucks equipped with medical supplies, food and water had reached northern Gaza while another 200 trucks had been dispatched from Nitzana, Israel. 

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 187 of these had made it past the border. 

The OCHA added that 11 ambulances, three coaches and a flatbed were delivered to Al-Shifa hospital, which had been raided and besieged by Israeli forces. The UN agency stated that these vehicles were to "assist with evacuations". 

“The longer the pause lasts, the more aid humanitarian agencies will be able to send in and across Gaza,” added OCHA, thanking the Palestinian and Egyptian Red Crescent groups.

Another 39 Palestinian prisioners are due to be released from Israeli prisons today while 13 people held captive in Gaza are also scheduled to be released, according to Al Jazeera. 

How to prioritize releases 

The deal risked being derailed when Hamas fighters said on Saturday they were delaying releases until Israel met all truce conditions, including committing to let aid trucks into northern Gaza.

Saving the deal took a day of high-stakes diplomacy mediated by Qatar and Egypt, a process US President Joe Biden joined, calling Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said only 65 of 340 aid trucks that had entered Gaza since Friday had reached northern Gaza, or "less than half of what Israel agreed on".

Al-Qassam Brigades, an armed Hamas wing, also said Israel had failed to respect terms for the release of Palestinian prisoners that factored in their time in detention.

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said there had been "a lot of discussion" on how and whom to prioritise for release and that a key criterion for the Palestinian side was the length of time spent in Israeli prisons.

"We are now hopeful that, with the second or the third day of this pause, we would be able to hash out a lot of these details," he told CNN.

Israel has said the ceasefire could be extended if Hamas continued to release at least 10 captives a day. A Palestinian source has said up to 100 captives could go free.

'Complete ceasefire'

Meanwhile, protesters around the world called for a complete ceasefire and an end to Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people. 

Addressing a rally on Sunday, Jamaat-e-Islami emir Sirajul Haq said that if we don't save our Palestinian brothers then the doors of heaven wouldn't open for us. He said he was ready to sacrifice his life for the Palestinian cause. 

In London, thousands of protesters marched on Saturday demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. 

The demonstrators waved pro-Palestinian banners, placards and shouted slogans as they walked through central London to the Houses of Parliament at Westminister. 

It was the largest pro-Palestinian protest held in London since October 7. 

People of Gaza need a permanent ceasefire, wrote Palestinian journalist Motaz Azaiza on X, formerly Twitter. "We want to live," he added. 

Videos and images of a pro-Palestine demonstration in Melbourne, Australia city could be seen circulating on social media depicting hundreds demanding an end to the war in Gaza. 

“Ceasefire now,” demonstrators chanted. Several people, including local politicians, spoke at the demonstration, denouncing Israel’s bombardment in the besieged enclave.

“Supporting the Palestinian desire to resist 75 years of colonisation is a call on all of us,” one speaker said, reported Al Jazeera.