Jerusalem/Gaza, Jan 25 (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Saturday that Israel will not allow Palestinian residents to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip for the time being.
The statement noted that the ban will apply until the release of Israeli civilian Arbel Yehud, who was scheduled to be freed on Saturday but was not among the four Israelis released by Hamas, is arranged.
Many residents of the northern Gaza Strip were forced to leave their homes during the fighting and moved to temporary places in the south.
They are supposed to return to their homes according to the ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
The statement mentioned that Yehud’s release in the second swap of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners was part of the deal that went into effect last week.
Meanwhile, a senior official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement revealed that the Israeli hostage Yehud is alive and will be released next Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Saturday, Hamas released the four female Israeli soldiers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy, and they arrived at an Israeli military camp near the Gaza border in good health.
The army observers, aged between 19 and 20, were abducted by Hamas from the Israeli army’s surveillance base at Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023, near the Gaza Strip border.
“The four returning hostages were accompanied by IDF special forces and ISA forces on their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment,” the statement reads.
The four are scheduled to meet their families at the IDF’s Reim camp, near the Gaza Strip border, and from there they will be transferred by helicopter to Beilinson Hospital in central Israel.
The transfer of the four soldiers from Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza was broadcast live. The four appeared to be in good health, walking and smiling.
The hostage release is part of the second phase of a prisoner-hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel, implemented under the initial terms of a ceasefire agreement.
The first stage of the six-week ceasefire took effect on January 19.
The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel was reached after 15 months of intense fighting, as a result of negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
–IANS
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