Hamas frees 8 more hostages but Israel puts prisoner release on hold alleging chaotic handover
Khan Younis (Gaza Strip), Jan 30 (AP): Hamas-led group freed eight hostages on Thursday as part of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but the chaotic handover of some of the captives, who masked Hamas members shuttled through a rowdy crowd of thousands, drew an angry protest from Israel.
Israel was supposed to release 110 Palestinian prisoners later in the day, including around 30 serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was put on hold until the “safe release” of hostages can be assured.
Over six weeks, Hamas is to free 33 Israeli hostages — roughly one third of those held— in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. As part of the truce, Israel has also pulled its forces back from major cities and allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in war-torn Gaza.
The sides are also to begin talks on a second phase aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack into Israel sparked the fighting.
The hostages released Thursday included a female Israeli soldier, a 29-year-old Israeli woman, an 80-year-old Israeli man, and five Thai labourers who had been working in southern Israel when they were captured.
The first hostage, soldier Agam Berger, 20, was released after Hamas paraded her in front of a crowd in the heavily destroyed urban Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Hours later, a chaotic scene unfolded at a handover of the other seven hostages in the southern city of Khan Younis, in front of the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Hundreds of members from Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group arrived with a convoy, and thousands of people gathered to watch, some from the tilted rooftops of bombed-out buildings.
Footage showed hostage Arbel Yehoud looking stunned as masked Hamas members hustled her through the shouting crowd, sometimes pushing people back.
About 20 friends of Yehoud gathered in southern Israel watched as the tense scene unfolded on live television. Some cried. Others had their hands over their eyes or mouths. One friend yelled at the news anchor to “shut up” when she said the situation appeared dangerous. The crowd then burst into tears after she was turned over to the Red Cross.
Netanyahu condemned the “shocking scenes" and called on international mediators to ensure the safety of hostages in future releases.
The other Israeli released Thursday was Gadi Moses, 80. Five Thai nationals were freed and identified by Israel as Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Pongsak Tanna, 36, Sathian Suwankam, 35, Bannawat Seathao, 27, and Surasak Lamnau, 32.
The Israeli army confirmed all eight were brought into Israel. The government released footage of Berger, who was among five young, female soldiers abducted in the October 7 attack, hugging and crying with her parents.
Earlier, people cheered, clapped and whistled in a square in Tel Aviv as Berger's handover unfolded on big screens next to a large clock that's counted the days the hostages have been in captivity. Some held signs saying: “Agam we're waiting for you at home.”
At the square, the White House's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, met briefly with families of hostages. “My message is that we're with the families and that we care for them,” he told The Associated Press.
A number of foreign workers were taken captive along with dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers during Hamas' attack. Twenty-three Thais were among more than 100 hostages released during a week-long ceasefire in November 2023. Israel says three Thais remain in captivity, two of whom are believed to be dead.
Among the people set to be released from prisons is Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former group leader and theatre director who took part in a dramatic jailbreak in 2021 before being rearrested days later.
Israel said Yehoud was supposed to have been freed on Saturday and delayed the opening of crossings to northern Gaza when she was not.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar, which brokered the ceasefire after a year of tough negotiations, resolved the dispute with an agreement that Yehoud would be released on Thursday. Another three hostages, all men, are set to be freed Saturday along with dozens more Palestinian prisoners.
On Monday, Israel began allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, the most heavily destroyed part of the territory, and hundreds of thousands streamed back. Many found only mounds of rubble where their homes had been.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
