Agencies
Tel Aviv/Gaza
Eight captives being held in Gaza – three Israelis and five Thai nationals – are to be freed by Hamas on Thursday.
The Palestinian group has passed on the names of the next hostages to be released from the Gaza Strip on Thursday as part of the ceasefire agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
One of the hostages to be released in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners is Arbel Yehud, who holds both Israeli and German citizenship, as well as female Israeli soldier Agam Berger.
In addition, Gadi Moses - who media reports say also has German citizenship - will be the first male hostage to be freed under the ceasefire agreement that put a halt to fighting on January 19 after over 15 months of war.
Netanyahu’s office did not name the Thai nationals to be released.
In an initial six-week phase of the agreement, 33 Israeli hostages are to be released in exchange for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Seven hostages, all of them women, have already been released under the deal. Another three are set to be released on Saturday.
Among the 90 remaining hostages held in Gaza are eight Thai nationals, one Nepalese national and one Tanzanian national.
According to the ceasefire deal, Hamas has to notify Israel 24 hours in advance who it is releasing before handing over the hostages.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Government Media Office has said more than half a million displaced Palestinians have returned to the northern governorates of Gaza via al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets in the past 72 hours.
“This comes after 470 days of forced displacement since the start of the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip,” it said.
Al Jazeera has reported earlier that some returnees are heading back to the centre of the enclave after finding no water, food, shelter or sanitation in the north.
