Iran (IMNA) _ Palestinian prisoners after Hamas freed eight captives, which included three Is raelis and five Thai nationals. The Palestinian resistance successfully released an Israeli female soldier along with two settlers and five Thai nationals on Thursday, marking the third phase of their prisoner swap agreement.
With this release, Hamas completed its obligation in the third phase of the swap, enabling Israel to move forward with the release of 110 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 minors. However, Netanyahu stated that he had halted this release until further notice, citing that the handover of the eight captives occurred under "chaotic" conditions. He emphasized that the exchange would be postponed until mediators secured guarantees from Hamas for the safe exit of Israeli hostages in future rounds.
Israeli army radio confirmed that the release of Palestinian prisoners was suspended "until further notice." Reports indicated that the Israeli Prison Service received directives from political leadership to halt these releases due to the disorder witnessed during the handover in Khan Younis.
The handover involved masked Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters escorting captives through large crowds toward Red Cross vehicles. Over the next six weeks, Hamas is expected to release 33 Israeli captives—about one-third of those held—in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group, among those Palestinians set for release today, 32 are serving life sentences, and 48 have varying prison terms. In previous exchanges, Hamas released seven Israeli captives in return for 290 prisoners, predominantly Palestinians.
A fourth exchange is scheduled for Saturday, which will involve the release of three additional Israeli men.
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