Closing summary
It is approaching 6pm in Gaza and Israel. This blog will be closing shortly. You can read Peter Beaumont’s latest piece here:
And his analysis here:
Here is a summary of today’s latest developments:
Scores of sick and injured Palestinians, with wounded members of Hamas expected to be among them, have been allowed to cross into Egypt as the key Rafah border crossing was reopened after the release of three more Israeli male civilian hostages. The opening of the Rafah border crossing, which was closed by Israeli forces nine months ago, took place as part of the continuing ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Three male Israeli civilian held hostage in Gaza have been released as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Hamas handed the first two men, Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon, over to the Red Cross in southern Gaza on Saturday morning, before they made their over to the Israeli military a short while later. Hamas handed over US-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel, the last of the three hostages released on Saturday by the group, to the Red Cross at Gaza port.
A total of 183 prisoners and detainees, almost all Palestinians except for one Egyptian, were released by Israel on Saturday. Seven Palestinians serving life sentences and an Egyptian were deported to Egypt, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club. Of the remainder, 150 were sent to Gaza and 25 were released in occupied West Bank. The Guardian understands that among the 183 released today, 72 have been convicted in the Israeli courts, while the remaining 111 are largely Palestinians from Gaza who had been detained without trial after the events of 7 October 2023.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed on Saturday it had safely transferred three hostages out of Gaza to Israel, and 175 Palestinian detainees from Israeli detention centres to Gaza and the West Bank. The charity said that in total, 183 detainees were released today.
The Gaza health ministry in said 50 Palestinian patients went through the Rafah crossing to Egypt on Saturday. Egyptian state-linked channel Al-Qahera News showed footage of the first of 50 evacuees and 53 companions, including a child with an autoimmune disease, crossing the border into Egypt to receive treatment.
French president Emmanuel Macron shared his joy on Saturday over the release of Franco-Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon. Macron said on X he shared the “relief and joy” of Kalderon’s family and friends.
Arab foreign ministers on Saturday rejected the transfer of Palestinians from their land “under any circumstances or justifications”, presenting a unified stance against US president Donald Trump’s call for Egypt and Jordan to take in residents of the Gaza Strip. In a joint statement after a meeting in Cairo, the foreign ministers and officials from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League said they were looking forward to working with Trump’s administration to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on a two-state solution.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the release of three hostages by Hamas on Saturday “brings a ray of light” after more than 15 months of captivity in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian prisoners and detainees released today arrived at medical facilities in Gaza “to receive treatment for the abuse and torture that they were subjected to” in Israeli prisons, Hamas said. Hamas said the state of those freed “confirms the ugliness of what the prisoners are subjected to in the jails. These horrific and ongoing violations against our heroic prisoners constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity”. The group added a plea to the international community, including the UN, to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Israel on Saturday demanded information from mediators who brokered a ceasefire in Gaza over the fate of three family members of freed hostage Yarden Bibas. “The Bibas family … has been living in constant fear for their lives for a long time … We continue to demand information about their condition from the mediators,” said Gal Hirsch, Israel’s hostage coordinator, in a statement, referring to Bibas’s wife and two children who remain in Gaza.
Updated
A total of 183 prisoners and detainees, almost all Palestinians except for one Egyptian, were released by Israel on Saturday.
Seven Palestinians serving life sentences and an Egyptian were deported to Egypt, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club. Of the remainder, 150 were sent to Gaza and 25 were released in occupied West Bank, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Guardian understands that among the 183 released today 72 have been convicted in the Israeli courts, while the remaining 111 are largely Palestinians from Gaza who had been detained without trial after the events of 7 October 2023.
