Four Israeli hostages have been reunited with their families:
Four Israeli hostages have been reunited with their families following the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners.
Four Israeli female soldiers have been released and are back with their families following the latest round of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement. These women were taken captive when Hamas attacked their base on October 7, 2023.
Hamas made a bold statement during the handover at Palestine Square in Gaza City, waving green flags and showcasing a poster featuring current and former Israeli leaders with the word “failure” prominently displayed. This seemed to send a clear message to Israel that Hamas is still a significant player despite the ongoing 15-month conflict in Gaza.
On another note, Israel has stated that Gazans won't be able to return north due to a disagreement over the release of a civilian that Israel thought would be freed on Saturday. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group claims to be holding 29-year-old Arbel Yehud, and sources indicate she is still alive.
Additionally, Israel’s prison service announced that 200 Palestinian prisoners, including some serving life sentences, were released from detention facilities as part of the ceasefire and hostage release agrement.
Hamas and Israel are pointing fingers at each other over violations of their agreement:
Can the shaky ceasefire and hostage deal actually last?
The truce between Israel and Hamas showed its weaknesses on Saturday when Israel claimed that Hamas was holding back a hostage, which led to a stop in the movement of Gazan civilians returning to their homes in the north.
This ceasefire was already pretty fragile, with Israeli officials often referring to it as a “framework” rather than a solid deal.
Things heated up this week when 29-year-old Arbel Yehud, a civilian that Israel expected to be released on Saturday, was not among the four women who were freed. In response, Israel blocked Gazan civilians from heading back north through the Netzarim Corridor, which was supposed to happen on Saturday as part of the ceasefire and hostage agreement.
To make things even more complicated, Yehud isn’t actually being held by Hamas. A senior figure from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), another militant group in the area, told CNN that they have Yehud and that she “will be released according to the terms of the agreed-upon prisoner exchange deal.”
Both sides are accusing each other of not holding up their end of the deal, raising doubts about the stability of the ceasefire that took over 15 months to negotiate.
“This is a very delicate situation,” said Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli hostage negotiator who used to communicate with Hamas through backchannels.
Baskin pointed out that Hamas “won’t give anything for free” regarding Yehud’s situation. He also mentioned that “Israel’s threat to prevent the displaced from moving north” isn’t likely to persuade Hamas to facilitate her release.
The former negotiator cautioned that if Israel follows through on its threat to stop displaced Palestinians from moving north, it “could lead to a halt in the release of the hostages” and suggested that Israel should focus on keeping the deal intact.
Baskin suggested that Israel should keep quiet and let the mediators take the lead. He emphasized that Israel should inform Qatar and Egypt that it's willing to go along with the three-week agreement that Hamas accepted back in September.
Israel has reached out to the Trump administration, asking them to urge Hamas to stick to the agreement and release Arbel Yehud, a female hostage, according to an Israeli official who spoke to CNN on Saturday.
The message was delivered to Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's Middle East envoy. CNN has also contacted the Trump administration for their take on the situation. The US, along with Qatar and Egypt, has been playing a significant role in mediating the ceasefire and hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli officials are advocating for the release of Yehud, who is 29 and was taken from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. They argue that she is a civilian and should have been freed by Saturday.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) claims to be holding Yehud and asserts that she was a soldier, although there’s no evidence supporting that claim.
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On Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced that civilians in Gaza won’t be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza as initially planned, since the Israeli female civilian expected to be released was not among thosea. set free.
