7 months ago
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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel and Hamas were expected to swap much hostages for Palestinian prisoners connected Saturday, the 2nd specified speech since a ceasefire began successful the Gaza Strip past play and different trial for the deal.
The truce is aimed astatine winding down the deadliest and astir destructive warfare ever fought betwixt Israel and the militant group. The fragile woody has truthful acold held, quieting airstrikes and rockets and allowing for accrued assistance to travel into the tiny coastal territory.
When the ceasefire started Sunday, 3 hostages held by the militants were released successful speech for 90 Palestinian prisoners, each women and children. On Saturday, 4 hostages are expected to beryllium freed for 200 prisoners, including 120 who are serving beingness sentences aft being convicted of deadly attacks connected Israelis. They volition apt beryllium released into Gaza oregon sent abroad.
The 4 Israeli soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19, were captured successful Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught that ignited the war.
They were taken from Nahal Oz basal adjacent the borderline with Gaza erstwhile Palestinian militants overran it, sidesplitting much than 60 soldiers there. The pistillate abductees had each served successful a portion of lookouts charged with monitoring threats on the border. A 5th pistillate worker successful their unit, Agam Berger, 20, was abducted with them but not included successful the list.
Israel's subject issued a connection Saturday greeting saying that preparations had been completed to person the hostages and supply them aesculapian attraction and idiosyncratic enactment astatine the archetypal reception points, past transportation them to hospitals and reunite them with their families.
After the swap, Israel is expected to statesman pulling backmost from the Netzarim corridor — an east-west roadworthy dividing Gaza successful 2 — and allowing displaced Palestinians successful the southbound to instrumentality to their erstwhile homes successful the northbound for the archetypal clip since the opening of the war.
Palestinians volition lone beryllium allowed to determination northbound connected foot, with vehicular postulation restricted until aboriginal successful the ceasefire.
What happens aft the deal’s archetypal six-week signifier is uncertain, but galore anticipation it volition pb to the extremity of a warfare that has leveled wide swaths of Gaza, displaced the immense bulk of its population, and near hundreds of thousands of radical astatine hazard of famine.
The struggle began with a cross-border onslaught led by Hamas connected Oct. 7, 2023, erstwhile Palestinian militants killed immoderate 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took astir 250 others hostage.
More than 100 hostages were freed successful a weeklong truce the pursuing month. But dozens person remained successful captivity for implicit a twelvemonth with nary interaction with the extracurricular world. Israel believes astatine slightest a 3rd of the much than 90 captives inactive wrong Gaza were killed successful the archetypal onslaught oregon died successful captivity.
Israel's aerial and crushed war, 1 of the deadliest and astir destructive successful decades, has killed implicit 47,000 Palestinians, according to section wellness officials, who bash not accidental however galore were militants. They accidental women and children marque up much than fractional the fatalities.
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Follow sum of the warfare astatine https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
