Middle East: Hamas releases 3 Israeli, 5 Thai hostages

The United Nations said its Palestinian aid agency UNRWA would continue to operate even as Israel severed ties with the organization.

"UNRWA clinics across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are open. Meanwhile, the humanitarian operations in Gaza continues, including with UNRWA work there," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres.

Israel banned UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil as of Thursday after it alleged that some UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023 that sparked the Gaza war.

Daniel Lifshitz, a friend of Arbel Yehoud, an Israeli hostage who was released on Thursday, told DW it was "amazing" to see her release.

He said it was "awful" and a "nightmare" to see Yehoud walk through a crowd of Gaza Palestinians before being handed over to the Red Cross as part of her transfer to Israel.

Daniel is the grandson of Oded Lifshitz, who remains in captivity in Gaza. He said his family had had no news of his grandfather since November 2023.

He thanked Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, and the German government for their efforts to secure the release of hostages from Gaza.

"On behalf of Yehoud's family and on my behalf, we are really thankful for everything the German government did," he said. "Ambassador Steffen is the best ambassador for the hostages in the world."

Lifshitz also called for the release of Yehoud's boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, who remains captive in Gaza.

Lifshitz's grandmother, Yocheved Lifshitz, was released in October 2023 as part of a deal mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

He expressed pessimism about the possibility of establishing peace in Israel and the Palestinian territories in the short term, saying that "peace needs two sides."

"Today we didn't see a side that wants peace," he said.

US President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told US news portal Axios following a visit to Gaza that reconstruction there could take 10 to 15 years.

"People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and turn around and leave ... there is no water and no electricity," he said.

Palestinians have been allowed to return to the north of the territory under a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Witkoff said when he visited the Palestinian enclave he saw that there was "almost nothing left of Gaza."

"It is stunning just how much damage occurred there," he said.

Witkoff said he went to Gaza to "inspect the implementation" of the ceasefire, adding that aid was entering Gaza as planned.

The US envoy said security arrangements around the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors were working better than Washington had expected. Control over the Philadelphi corridor , along the border between Egypt and Gaza, had been one of the main points of contention in ceasefire negotiations.

Last week, UN Development Program chief Achim Steiner told DW that Gaza had faced destruction "without precedent" and needed to rebuild "60 years of lost development."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has welcomed the release of two German-Israeli hostages, and urged the release of all remaining captives.

Earlier Thursday, militants in Gaza freed five Thai and three Israeli hostages. Among them were two German-Israeli dual nationals, 80-year-old Gadi Moses and 29-year-old Arbel Yehoud.

"We are relieved and rejoice with all the hostages who have been released," Scholz posted on X.

"All of the hostages must be released and all mortal remains of the deceased returned to the families."

A convoy of white buses carrying Palestinian prisoners set to be released on Thursday has left has Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank.

The buses made their way toward Beitunah, near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah where families and celebrations were waiting after a delay.

The Palestinians departed the Israeli prison after Israel said international mediators had provided assurances for the "safe release" of hostages during future exchanges. That followed chaotic scenes during a handover of eight captives in Gaza earlier in the day.

Israel was releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages freed from Gaza. The swap is the third round of exchanges, as the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas draws to the end of its second week.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has celebrated the release of five Thai nationals who were held in Gaza for over a year.

The five Thais were abducted during the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

A total of 31 Thai citizens were taken captive during the attack.

"Elated to get confirmation from our Thai Ambassador in Israel who informed me on the phone just now that five of our Thai nationals were indeed released today from Gaza," she said in an English-language statement published on several official social media accounts.

"The Thai Government, including everyone here in Thailand, have long been waiting for this very moment," she said, adding that she hoped the remaining Thais in Gaza would be released soon.

Paetongtarn said Thailand "deeply appreciates" the work done by Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Turkey and the United States to secure the hostages' release. She also thanked Israel for taking care of them and facilitating their return to Thailand.

Around 30,000 Thai citizens live in Israel, most of whom work in the country's agricultural sector.

Israel has suspended the expected release of 110 Palestinian prisoners "until further notice," Israeli army radio has reported.

"The political echelon announced the suspension of the operation to release the terrorists until further notice," the radio said citing a security source.

It did not specify the reason for the suspension, which comes in the middle of a third hostage-prisoner exchange with Palestinian militant group Hamas under a recent ceasefire deal.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he wants to delay the return of the prisoners until the "safe release" of hostages is assured.

Netanyahu had earlier criticized the handover of hostages by Hamas in Gaza amid swarming crowds.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have released all eight of the hostages they had agreed to free on Thursday, including three Israelis and five Thai nationals.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized what he described as "shocking scenes" during the handover of seven hostages on Thursday, including two Israelis.
 
"I view with great severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages. This is yet another proof of the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas terrorist organization," Netanyahu said in a statement posted on X.
 
Israeli TV footage showed gunmen struggling to control hundreds of Gazans who had gathered to witness the hostage handover in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
 
"We came to witness these historic moments of handing over the prisoners," Mohammed Al-Astal, 32, told AFP news agency in Khan Younis earlier on Thursday.

The Israeli army says that the Red Cross confirms it now has seven hostages, two Israelis and five Thai nationals.

The seven hostages were transferred to the Red Cross "and are on their way toward IDF and ISA forces in Gaza," the Israeli Defense Force posted on X.

Israeli TV broadcast the release of German-Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, according to Reuters news agency.

Channel 12 showed footage of 29-year-old Yehoud surrounded by a densely packed and loudly shouting crowd as she was escorted by armed Palestinian militants in southern Gaza on Thursday.

Palestinian militant group Hamas had previously released Israeli soldier Agam Berger earlier on Thursday as the third hostage-prisoner exchange of the Gaza ceasefire got under way.

The Thai nationals were Watchara Sriaoun, Pongsak Tanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnau, and Bannawat Saethao, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

In exchange, 110 Palestinians held in Israeli jails are set to be released. 

Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud has been handed over to the Red Cross, according to Reuters news agency citing an Israeli TV channel. 

Channel 12 showed footage of 29-year-old Yehoud surrounded by a densely packed and loudly shouting crowd as she was escorted armed by Palestinian militants in southern Gaza on Thursday.

The Palestianian militant group Hamas has handed Israeli soldier Agam Berger over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip as the first of eight hostages set to be released today as part of a ceasefire in Gaza.

Berger, 20, was taken hostage alongside four other female soldiers who were released on Saturday.

Berger is now back on Israeli soil, the Israeli military has confirmed.

 "A short while ago, accompanied by IDF and ISA forces, the returning hostage, IDF soldier Agam Berger, crossed the border into Israeli territory," the military said in a statement.

Hamas is set to free two more Israeli hostages as well as five Thai hostages on Thursday under the deal.

Israel is to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 children, in the third such exchange since the ceasefire went into force earlier this month.

Celebrations took place in Syria on Wednesday evening after Ahmed al-Sharaa was appointed as the country's transitional president following the dramatic ouster of dictator Bashar Assad last month.

Umayyad Square in the capital, Damascus, saw one large gathering in support of al-Sharaa, the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad in early December. HTS was created in 2017 after a merger of Syrian Islamist rebel groups opposed to Assad's regime.  

Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has sought to present himself as an advocate of pluralism and tolerance in recent years.

He has also given pledges to protect the rights of women and religious minorities in Syria.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has demanded that Israel rescind its order to ban activities of UNRWA on its soil and to forbid contact between the agency and Israeli officials. 

"I regret this decision and request that the government of Israel retract it," he said, saying that UNRWA was "irreplaceable."

The agency's head, Philippe Lazzarini, said UNRWA's capacity to distribute aid "far exceeds that of any other entity."

He called Israel's actions against UNRWA a "relentless assault ... harming the lives and future of Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory."

The UN and aid groups dispute Israel's assertion that humanitarian needs in Gaza can be covered by other organizations.

Israel will from Thursday ban the UN agency for Palestianian refugees, UNRWA, from operating on Israeli soil and forbid contact between it and Israeli officials.

The move comes after Israel repeatedly accused the agency of providing cover for Hamas militants — accusations that UNRWA and independent investigations have described as largely lacking evidence.

The decision by Israel is likely to have serious consequences for the delivery of vital supplies and services to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after 15 months of war, although Israeli authorities say other organizations can fill the gaps left.

 "Humanitarian aid doesn't equal UNRWA, and UNRWA doesn't equal humanitarian aid. UNRWA equals an organization infested with Hamas terror activity," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, ahead of the ban.

"This is why, beginning on January 30 and in accordance with Israeli law, Israel will have no contact with UNRWA," he wrote, adding that "humanitarian aid will continue" despite the move.

The ban does not affect UNRWA activities in the Gaza Strip or West Bank, but does apply to Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, where UNRWA has a field headquarters for its operations in the West Bank. 

The agency says it has brought in 60% of the food aid that has reached Gaza since the war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. 

Hamas and other Palestinian groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad will release three Israeli and five Thai hostages under the terms of a ceasefire deal that took hold in the Gaza Strip earlier this month.

Israel is to free 100 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

The swap is the third such exchange since the ceasefire went into force.

The Israelis set to be released are Agam Berger, 20, a female soldier; Arbel Yehoud, a 29-year-old civilian woman who also holds German citizenship; and Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man.

The identities of the Thai nationals who will be released were not immediately known.

The Thais were among a number of foreign workers who were taken hostage along with Israeli civilians and soldiers during the Hamas-led terror attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that triggered the current war in the Gaza Strip. 

Twenty-three Thais were already released under another ceasefire in November 2023, with Israel saying eight remain in captivity.

The 110 prisoners to be released by Israel include 30 who are serving life sentences for carrying out deadly attacks against Israelis.

Former militant leader and theater director Zakaria Zubeidi, who broke out of jail in 2021 but was rearrested days later, is one of those set to be released.

Hamas is deemed a terrorist organization by the US, Germany, and several other countries. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is also characterized as a terrorist organization by many countries.   

tj/wd (Reuters, AP; AFP, dpa)