A major crisis in the Gaza ceasefire was apparently averted yesterday when Hamas agreed to release three hostages on Jan. 30, including Arbel Yehud, a civilian hostage whom Israel demanded last week be released, in addition to the three scheduled for this coming Feb.1. In return, Israel withdrew from the western half of the Netzarim Corridor and began allowing Palestinians to head to northern Gaza at 7 a.m. IST this morning.
Al Mayadeen reported last night that mediators facilitated an agreement, which would see the release of Yehud and two other unnamed captives before Jan. 31 in exchange for the release of a far greater number of Palestinian detainees and more importantly the return of citizens to the northern Gaza Strip on Feb. 3. Moreover, the spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majed al-Ansari said that the new arrangement also saw the Palestinian Resistance reveal the status of a number of captives meant to be released in the first stage of the ceasefire agreement. In return, Israel will hand over a list including the names of 400 citizens it has detained since October 7, 2023, every Sunday until the first stage is over.
