Israel’s prison service said 39 Palestinian detainees were released on Sunday under the terms of a truce agreement, while Hamas hand over 17 prisoners on the third day of a truce with Israel.
Hamas said on Sunday it had handed over 13 Israeli hostages, three Thai nationals and a person with Russian citizenship who had been held in the Gaza Strip to the Red Cross on the third day of a truce between Israel and the Hamas.
Killing of a Palestinian farmer in the central Gaza Strip had earlier added to concerns over the fragility of the truce.
The farmer was killed when targeted by Israeli forces east of Gaza's long-established Maghazi refugee camp, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals arrived in Israel early on Sunday after a second release of hostages held by Hamas following an initial delay caused by a dispute about aid delivery into Gaza.
Egypt and Qatar acted as mediators on Saturday to maintain the truce.
The armed wing of Hamas also said on Sunday that four of its military commanders in the Gaza Strip had been martyred, including the commander of the North Gaza brigade, Ahmad Al Ghandour. It did not say when they had been martyred.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States are pressing for the truce to be extended beyond Monday but it is not clear whether that will happen.
Omar Abdullah Al Hajj, 17, one of the Palestinian detainees released Sunday, said he’d been kept in the dark about what was happening in the outside world.
“I can’t believe I’m free now but my joy is incomplete because we still have our brothers who remain in prison, and then there is all the news about Gaza that I am having to learn about now,” he told reporters.
The latest three Thai hostages released were in good health, Thailand’s prime minister said.
Efforts to free the remaining 15 Thais held would continue, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Sunday’s hostage release follows the liberation of 13 Israelis and four foreigners on Saturday.
The deal survived an earlier threat when Hamas said on Saturday it was delaying hostage releases until Israel met all truce conditions, including committing to let aid trucks into northern Gaza.
Qatari diplomats are now on site in Gaza to supervise the entry and delivery of their country’s aid, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said.
A UN official who took part in a humanitarian convoy to northern Gaza said on Sunday aid groups were on track to deliver the biggest shipment in over a month, describing thin, gaunt residents slaking their thirst as soon as water arrived.
“People are so desperate and you can see in adults’ eyes they haven’t eaten,” the UN children’s agency’s James Elder told reporters from southern Gaza after returning from Gaza City.
Even as the aid deliveries flowed north, Elder said he saw hundreds of Gazans heading in the other direction, fearing the renewal of Israeli bombardments if the four-day truce is not prolonged.
“People are so terrified that this pause won’t be continued,” he said.
