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regular-article-logo Monday, 30 September 2024

Egypt receives list of 13 Israelis, 39 Palestinians to be released today

The armed wing of Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigade, said in a statement on Sunday that four of its military commanders had died in the Gaza Strip

Our Web Desk Published 26.11.23, 08:07 PM
Israeli soldiers sit in a military vehicle near the Israel-Gaza border on its Israeli side during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in southern Israel.

Israeli soldiers sit in a military vehicle near the Israel-Gaza border on its Israeli side during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in southern Israel. Reuters.

Egypt received lists of 13 Israelis and 39 Palestinians scheduled for release on Sunday, the third batch in the four-day truce deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar, Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), said in a statement, reports Reuters.

"The truce is proceeding without roadblocks," the statement said, adding that 120 aid tucks crossed from Egypt to Gaza on Sunday including two fuel trucks and two with gas for cooking.

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Attackers seized a tanker linked to Israel off the coast of Aden, Yemen, on Sunday, authorities said. While no group immediately claimed responsibility, it comes as at least two other maritime attacks in recent days have been linked to the Israel-Hamas war.

The attackers seized the Liberian-flagged Central Park, managed by Zodiac Maritime, in the Gulf of Aden, the company and private intelligence firm Ambrey said. An American defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, also confirmed to The Associated Press that the attack took place.

Zodiac called the seizure “a suspected piracy incident.”

“Our priority is the safety of our 22 crew onboard,” Zodiac said in a statement. “The Turkish-captained vessel has a multinational crew consisting of a crew of Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals. The vessel is carrying a full cargo of phosphoric acid.”

Hamas military wing says northern brigade commander killed

The armed wing of Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigade, said in a statement on Sunday that four of its military commanders had died in the Gaza Strip, reports Deutsche Welle.

This included the commander of its northern Gaza brigade, Ahmad Al-Ghandour, it said in a statement published on Telegram.

The militant group did not say where or when he was killed.

Al-Ghandour is the highest-ranking member of the Al-Qassam Brigade thought to have been killed in Israel's retaliation in Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack.

He had survived at least three Israeli attempts to kill him, going back to 2002, according to the Counter Extremism Project, an advocacy group based in Washington.

Hamas' military wing also said three other senior officers had been killed. One of them, Ayman Siyyam, was previously reported in Israeli media to be in charge of Al-Qassam Brigade's rocket-firing units.

Palestinians report several dead in West Bank

Israeli forces operating in the occupied West Bank killed at least eight Palestinians over the weekend, Palestinian health officials said on Sunday.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that five were killed in the militant stronghold Jenin, while three others were killed in separate areas of the West Bank since Saturday morning.

Israel's military said its forces entered the Jenin refugee camp to arrest a Palestinian suspected of killing an Israeli father and son earlier in the year.

The military made no mention of clashes or deaths in its Sunday statement but said that operations were ongoing in the area.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA wrote that Israeli troops attacked the camp "from several directions" and called for a strike in Jenin on Sunday to commemorate the dead.

The Health Ministry said six others were wounded in Jenin.

Israel had not commented on the other reported deaths elsewhere in the West Bank. There has been an uptick in both Israeli military activity and settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since Hamas' October 7 terror attacks.

Palestinian prisoners return home, some after years

Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners in all on Saturday, under the 3-1 ratio agreed as part of the Qatari-mediated truce with Hamas, which the EU, US and others recognize as a terrorist group.

Some of the Palestinian prisoners were released in east Jerusalem, while the bulk returned home to a hero's welcome in the occupied West Bank.

In east Jerusalem, Israeli troops eventually drove away journalists who gathered outside the home of Israa Jaabis, who had been imprisoned since 2015 after being convicted of carrying out a bombing attack that wounded an Israeli police officer and left her with severe burns on her face and hands.

In the West Bank, fireworks were set off and crowds filled the streets to welcome back former prisoners.

Among them was Nurhan Awad, who was 17 in 2016 when she was sentenced to more than 13 years in jail for attempting to stab an Israeli soldier with a pair of scissors.

Another Palestinian former prisoner, Shorouk Dwayyat, who had served roughly half of a 16-year sentence, told Al Jazeera TV: "I feel like I am in a dream, but I hope that the war on Gaza will stop as soon as possible."

Under the truce deal, Israel has agreed to release a total of 150 Palestinian women and minors imprisoned in Israeli jails.

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