By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) – Palestinian militant group Hamas will hand over female Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud and two other hostages before Friday, mediator Qatar said on Sunday, and Israel said it would allow residents of the northern Gaza Strip to go back home early on Monday.
In a statement, Qatar’s foreign ministry also said Israel will in return allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza starting Monday morning.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that civilian Arbel Yehud, soldier Agam Berger and another hostage will be released by Hamas.
He also said in a post on X that Israel will allow displaced Gaza families to return home north of the Palestinian enclave starting Monday morning.
“The Prime Minister reiterates that Israel will not tolerate any violation of the agreement. We will continue to act for the return of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” said a statement issued by Netanyahu’s office.
Following the Qatari announcement, Hamas said early on Monday that it handed over to the mediators the required information regarding the list of Israeli hostages who will be released during the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The move brokered by Qatar and Egyptian mediators would allow around 650,000 Palestinians displaced in central and southern Gaza Strip to return home north of the enclave, most of which had been laid waste by 15 months of Israel’s aerial and ground offensive, that has also killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Hamas took around 250 hostages during the 2023 attack on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli tallies. It sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The fighting has currently paused amid a fragile ceasefire.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have waited for two days at roadblocks to return to their homes in northern Gaza, voicing frustration after Israel accused Hamas of breaching a ceasefire agreement and refused to open crossing points.
Cars, trucks and rickshaws were overloaded with mattresses, food, and the tents that served as shelters for over a year for those in the central and southern areas of the enclave.
Under the agreement worked out with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the U.S., Israel was meant to allow Palestinians displaced from the north to return to their homes.
But Israel said that Hamas’ failure to hand over a list detailing who of the hostages scheduled for release were alive or to hand over Arbel Yehud, an Israeli woman taken hostage from her kibbutz home during the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, meant it had violated the agreement.
The Israeli military put out a statement telling Gaza residents they would be allowed to return on foot through the coastal road at 05:00 GMT, and in vehicles through the eastern Salahudeen road at 07:00 GMT.
It warned them against approaching Israeli forces’ positions.
“The transfer of militants or weapons via these routes to the northern Gaza Strip will be considered a breach of the agreement. Do not cooperate with any terrorist entity that may try to exploit you to transfer weapons or prohibited materials,” said the military.
Responding to the news, thousands of displaced families burst in cheers at shelters and tent encampments.
“No sleep, I have everything packed and ready to go with the first light of day,” said Ghada, a mother of five.
“At least we are going back home, now I can say war is over and I hope it will stay calm,” she told Reuters via a chat app.
(Writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Ahmed Tolba and Hatem Maher; Editing by Diane Craft)
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