The last exchange involved four Israeli hostage bodies and the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners, marking the end of the first phase of the Qatar, Egypt, and the United States agreement.
The Palestinian Islamite Movement Hamas said this Thursday that Israel “has no choice” but to start negotiations for a second phase of ceasefire in Gaza, after a new exchange of hostage bodies for prisoners.
“[Israel] There is no choice but to start negotiations for the second phase, “said Hamas, through the Telegram messaging platform.
“We renewed our full commitment to the ceasefire agreement, with all its details and provisions, and [manifestamos] our availability to start negotiations related to the second phase of the agreement. “
Hamas delivered the four bodies of Israelites on Wednesday that were held hostage in the Gaza Strip, a source of Israel’s security source said to the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
A bus with Palestinian prisoners released by Israel came out of Off’s Israelite prison after midnight towards the city of Ramallah, West Bank, according to a broadcast of Al Jazeera, Qatar’s television channel.
A Hamas agency confirmed that a total of 43 people was released in Ramallah and Jerusalem.
The liberation of the other prisoners will be conditioned to the identification of the bodies of the hostages.
In addition, at least 445 residents of Gaza detained during the war are also released, along with 11 others captured before the war began. Another 97 people will be deported.
Agreement mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States
This is the latest exchange in the part of the truce negotiated with the mediation of three countries – Qatar, Egypt and the United States – and which came into force on January 19 in the Gaza Strip. The first of the three stages of ceasefire ends on Saturday.
Hamas’s armed arm said he handed over the bodies of four Israelites : Elgarat Its, of 70 years, Ohad Yahalomi, of 50, Shlomo Manur, of 85, in Idan, from 50 years.
In mid-January, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as well as for the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
This first phase would culminate in the delivery of these four new bodies, although during the early stages of the pact the agreement was arrested on several occasions.
Of the 251 hostages kidnapped on 7 October in Israel, 62 remain detained in Gaza, including 35 dead, according to the Israelite army.
