Israel receives list of captives to be released under Gaza cease-fire deal
Hamas fighters escort four Israeli hostages to hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City, Jan. 25, 2025. (AFP Photo)
Israel announced Wednesday evening that it received a list of captives set to be released by Palestinian groups in Gaza on Thursday as part of a cease-fire agreement.
“Israel has received the list of captives” scheduled for release on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
According to Israel’s Army Radio, five Thai nationals and three Israelis, including Arbel Yehud, are among those to be freed.
Meanwhile, the Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed they will release three Israeli captives on Thursday: Arbel Yehud, Agam Berger, and Gadi Moshe Mozes.
Israel had cited the case of Yehud to justify delays in allowing displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza from Saturday until Monday morning.
Meanwhile, reports close to the Palestinian resistance group Hamas indicate that Israel plans to release 110 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday, including 32 serving life sentences, 48 with long sentences, and 30 minors.
Gaza cease-fire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, 2025, which brought a temporary halt to hostilities in Gaza after months of conflict.
Under the agreement, indirect negotiations on the second phase of the deal are set to begin on the 16th day of the cease-fire. However, the first six-week phase of the agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
