Palestinian resistance allowed Israeli captives to contact family before release: Report
The Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip allowed Israeli captives who were set to be released as part of an exchange with Palestinian prisoners to contact their family members prior to their release, a report says.
The Quds News Network carried the report on Monday, citing the developments that preceded the release of the first seven-strong batch of 20 remaining living captives, who were captured by resistance fighters on October 7, 2023 during a historic operation.
The communication, the news agency added, took place “just hours” before their scheduled release, which saw the resistance hand over the captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) later in the day.
Pictures circulating across social media platforms showed the captives holding video calls with their next of kin.
Hamas also released the remaining 13 Israeli captives later on Monday and handed them over to the International Red Cross in Gaza.
Reports had earlier noted that the living captives were in reasonable condition, able to walk without requiring medical assistance. They contrasted their condition to that of the Palestinian detainees released from Israeli prisons, who were often in poor health amid reports of torture, mistreatment, and medical negligence.
Commenting on the exchange process, al-Qassam Brigades, the Gaza-based resistance movement Hamas’ armed wing, hailed the agreement reached between Hamas and the regime during indirect talks in Egypt recently, which enabled the exchange.
The deal mandates implementation of a first phase of a ceasefire plan devised by the United States aimed at ending a two-year-plus war of genocide by Tel Aviv against Gaza.
Al-Qassam lamented the regime’s having thwarted previous conciliatory efforts ever since the launch of the genocide, which has claimed the lives of around 67,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
“The resistance was eager to stop the war of extermination, but the enemy thwarted all efforts,” it said.
The fighters, however, hailed the Palestinian people’s steadfastness in the face of the regime’s “superior intelligence and surplus force,” saying the resolve thwarted the enemy’s main objectives.
They were referring to Tel Aviv’s supposed goals of occupying Gaza and expelling its two-million-plus residents through the genocide.
Under the deal, Hamas had agreed to release the 20 living Israeli captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, many without charge.
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