Preparations for the third prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel
Israel and Hamas are preparing on Thursday to carry out a third prisoner swap in Gaza for detainees in Israeli jails, during which eight prisoners – three Israelis and five Thais – will be released in exchange for 110 Palestinian detainees, as part of a fragile truce aimed at ending the war.
A fourth exchange is scheduled for the weekend, but Hamas has accused Israel of delaying the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, warning that this could affect the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the release of prisoners, while Israel described the accusations as false.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had received from Hamas a list of eight prisoners – three Israelis and five Thais – who were due to be released on Thursday, as well as three living men held by Hamas who were due to be released on Saturday.
The three Israelis to be released on Thursday are two women, Arbel Yehud, (29), and Agam Berger, (20), and an elderly man, Gadi Moses, who is 80 and holds dual Israeli-German citizenship, according to Netanyahu’s office.
The exact timing of the exchange isn’t known, as a Hamas source told Agence France-Presse that the three Israeli prisoners will be handed over before noon today, Thursday.
On Thursday morning Hamas and Islamic Jihad had apparently set up platforms to hand over prisoners in the Jabaliya camp and in Khan Yunis, where dozens of gunmen were deployed.
In exchange for these, Israel will release 110 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, which explained in a statement that 32 of them are sentenced to life imprisonment, 48 have been sentenced to varying prison terms, in addition to 30 minors.
The prisoners are expected to arrive in Ramallah around noon (10:00 GMT), according to the club.
Twenty of them will be deported, as happened in previous releases.
