183 Palestinians, 3 Israelis freed in fifth prisoner exchange – Ceasefire Day 20

, , ,
183 Palestinians, 3 Israelis freed in fifth prisoner exchange – Ceasefire Day 20
Israeli troops are withdrawing from the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza, leaving massive destruction. (social media)

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

In Lebanon, an Israeli attack Saturday on a Hezbollah base has killed six people and wounded two others, Lebanese state media has reported.

Israel Withdraws from Netzarim Corridor, Leaving Behind Devastation

The Israeli army is in the final stages of withdrawing from the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, as part of the ceasefire deal with the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas, according to Israeli media.

The corridor has served as a military zone that not only cut the Gaza Strip into two but severely restricted Palestinian movement for months during Israel’s genocidal assault on the enclave.

The withdrawal was set to begin overnight into Sunday “marking the full military pullback from northern Gaza,” the Israeli Ynet news website reported.

The Times of Israel meanwhile reported that the occupation forces “would only maintain a presence in a buffer zone of up to around one kilometer inside Gaza.”

Israeli occupation forces set fire to remaining belongings before withdrawing from the Netzarim corridor in Gaza.

In footage shared by various media outlets, the occupation forces were seen setting fire to belongings ahead of their withdrawal.

“We will leave nothing for the Gazans,” they reportedly said in the video.

RELATED: The ‘Netzarim Corridor’ is not a corridor, it is a nightmare

Israel releases new group of Palestinian prisoners under Gaza ceasefire deal

Israeli authorities released 183 Palestinian prisoners on 8 February, while Hamas released three Israeli captives from Gaza. The exchange completed the fifth round of prisoner releases as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached last month between Hamas and Israel.

WAFA news agency reports that the released Palestinian prisoners include 18 individuals serving life sentences, 54 others with long-term sentences, and 111 detainees from Gaza detained after the start of the war on 7 October 2023.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society reported that 42 of the prisoners released are from the occupied West Bank, three are from occupied Jerusalem, and 27 are from Gaza.

Additionally, seven prisoners serving life sentences were deported outside of Palestine, including Ahmed Atiyah Jaafari, Abdel Azim Hassan, Imad Abu Ajamiya, Falah Shehada, Montaser Abu Ghalion, Mansour Abu Aoun, and Youssef Iskafi.

As Palestinian prisoners were released from Ofer Prison near Ramallah, Israeli forces blocked families from gathering to welcome their loved ones and fired live ammunition and tear gas at them.

Hundreds of Palestinians and relatives of the released prisoners gathered early in the morning at the Mahmoud Darwish Museum in Ramallah to greet the freed detainees, waving Palestinian flags in celebration of their release, WAFA added.

Hamas released three captives abducted by resistance fighters during the 7 October attack on Israeli settlements and military bases enforcing the siege on Gaza.

Palestinians greet Red Cross bus, carrying prisoners released in the 5th round of the ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement between Hamas and Israel, as it arrives Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza on February 8, 2025.
Palestinians greet Red Cross bus, carrying prisoners released in the 5th round of the ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement between Hamas and Israel, as it arrives Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza on February 8, 2025. (Moiz Salhi – Anadolu Agency)

Rights group says most released Palestinian prisoners suffer health issues

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society advocacy group says most of the prisoners released by Israel in the continuing ceasefire deal suffer from health problems.

“Today, after 183 prisoners were released in the fifth batch of the first phase, the prisoners’ bodies and their health conditions, and the need for some of them to be transferred to the hospital, reflected the level of atrocities that the prisoners were exposed to over the past period in the occupation prisons,” it said.

Seven Palestinian prisoners among those released by Israel as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal have been admitted to hospitals upon arriving in Ramallah, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says.

Israeli army raids homes of Palestinian detainees’ families ahead of their release

The Israeli army launched a series of raids across the occupied West Bank early Saturday targeting the homes of Palestinian detainees set to be released as part of the ongoing prisoner exchange deal under the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. This has been a regular pattern just before each prisoner exchange.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli forces stormed multiple homes, ransacked belongings, and issued warnings to families against celebrating their loved ones’ release.

One of the targeted homes was that of senior Hamas leader Jamal Al-Tawil in Al-Bireh, where Israeli soldiers threatened his family with arrest if they held any celebrations.

His daughter, journalist Bushra Al-Tawil, confirmed to Anadolu that Israeli troops explicitly warned them of repercussions should they welcome their father with any form of public rejoicing (continue reading here).

Fakhri Barghouti, 70-year-old father of Shadi Barghouti who was released from prison, said that the night before, Israeli forces stormed his family home in the occupied West Bank village of Kobar, warning him not to celebrate his son’s release and assaulting him, he said.

“They entered after midnight, smashed everything, took me into a side room and beat me before leaving,” Barghouti told AFP.

“I was taken to the hospital, where they found that I had a broken rib.”

Israeli president Herzog says condition of freed Israeli captives a ‘crime against humanity’

The Israeli president has made a statement about the release of the three Israeli captives, who appeared gaunt.

“This is what a crime against humanity looks like!” he said on X.

“The whole world must look directly at Ohad, Or, and Eli – returning after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained – being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle by vile murderers. We take solace in the fact that they are being returned alive to the arms of their loved ones,” Herzog added.

Throughout the war, Israel was repeatedly accused by humanitarian agencies of systematically hindering aid to Gaza, including food and medicine for people under siege amid famine-like conditions.

Last year, Refugees International said Israel “consistently and groundlessly impeded aid operations within Gaza, blocked legitimate relief operations and resisted implementing measures that would genuinely enhance the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza”.

Gaza is witnessing the worst levels of malnutrition, according to Save the Children’s Alexandra Saieh
Gaza is witnessing the worst levels of malnutrition, according to Save the Children’s Alexandra Saieh (photo)

Gaza at risk from ‘mind-boggling’ amount of unexploded ordnance, aid group warns

Unexploded bombs and shells buried in the ruins of Gaza could kill or injure thousands of people in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory in the future, an aid organization has warned.

The volume of ordnance dropped by Israel on Gaza during 15 months of conflict was “mind-boggling”, said Simon Elmont, a de-mining expert with Handicap International – Humanity & Inclusion.

“The amount of ordnance that has been fired is an enormous quantity,” Elmont told the AFP news agency, adding that between nine and 13 percent of munitions fail to explode on initial impact.

“It is going to be tens of thousands of unexploded ordnance, that’s for sure,” he added.

He said that the contamination level in Gaza was massive, and much of the ordnance “lies mainly within the rubble and underneath the surface of Gaza”.

UN team's visit to Gaza's Khan Younis revealed grave risk of unexploded ordnance
UN team’s visit to Gaza’s Khan Younis revealed grave risk of unexploded ordnance (social media)

Trump Administration Moves to Send $8 Billion in Arms to Israel, Bypassing Some Lawmakers

The State Department has given Congress formal notification that it plans to move forward with sales of more than $8 billion in weapons to Israel, bypassing an informal review process that was underway in a House committee.

On Friday the State Department formally notified Congress of its intention to go ahead with the sale without waiting till the review was complete.

MORE NEWS:

The Intercept: “You Don’t Own Gaza, Donald Trump”: Palestinians Vow to Remain and Rebuild
The Guardian: Trump wants to wipe out Gaza’s history. Saving its mosques and churches would defy him
The Cradle: For Israel’s criminal soldiers, ‘nowhere to run, nowhere to hide’
Palestine Chronicle: German Police Halt Pro-Palestine Rally, Cite Arabic Language Ban
IMEMC Daily Reports

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – FEBRUARY 8, 2025 (ongoing count):

At least 63,299 Palestinians killed, 118,638 injured – including:

  • at least 62,403 killed in Gaza (~20,600 children)
  • at least 896 killed in the West Bank (~180 children)
  • at least 111,638 injured in Gaza
  • at least 7,000 injured in the West Bank

WAR STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 (Hamas attack) – JANUARY 19, 2025 (Ceasefire):

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: at least 48,143 – including at least 47,283 in Gaza (~20,600 children), and 860 in the West Bank (~177 children). Palestinian injuries: at least 118,472 – including at least 111,629 in Gaza, and 7,000 in the West Bank.

Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 11,000 more are still buried under rubble.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: ~1,616 (or 1,590) – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 436 (or 405) military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers. Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

 

Enter your email address below to receive our latest articles right in your inbox.

You might also like: