CAIRO: Hamas deployed fighters in Gaza on Monday as a release of hostages seized in the October 7 attacks was under way, Reuters footage showed, in an apparent show of strength by the militant group which President Donald Trump says must disarm.
Reuters footage showed dozens of Hamas fighters lined up at a hospital in southern Gaza, and an armed man wearing the insignia of the Hamas armed wing, the Qassam Brigades. His shoulder patch identified him as a member of the elite “Shadow Unit,” which Hamas sources say is tasked with guarding hostages.
Israel has pummelled Hamas during its two-year-long Gaza offensive, killing thousands of its fighters and many of its leaders in the onslaught that turned much of the Palestinian territory into a wasteland.
Israel’s military said it had received the first seven of 20 surviving hostages after their transfer out of Gaza by the Red Cross.
The remaining 13 confirmed living hostages, along with the bodies of 26 dead hostages and another two whose fate is unknown, are also expected to be released on Monday, along with nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners.
The release of the remaining hostages in Gaza along with the Palestinian prisoners is the first stage of Trump’s plan for ending the Gaza war. A ceasefire has been in place since Friday.
The next phase of negotiations must address demands for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, the territory it has controlled since expelling President Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority in 2007.
Hamas deploys fighters as hostages released, in show of strength
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Hamas deploys fighters as hostages released, in show of strength
- Dozens of Hamas fighters line up at a hospital in southern Gaza
Israel spied on US forces at Gaza aid base: Sources
- US commander summoned Israeli counterpart to say: ‘Recording has to stop here’
- Staff, visitors from other partner countries have also raised concerns about Israeli surveillance
LONDON: Israel conducted widespread surveillance of US forces involved in an aid mechanism for Gaza, The Guardian reported.
The Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel was launched in October as a joint body to monitor the ceasefire and oversee the entry of aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
But sources with knowledge of internal disputes told The Guardian that open and covert recordings of meetings at the CMCC had prompted disputes between the two partners.
Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank, the US commander of the center, summoned his Israeli counterpart to explain that “recording has to stop here.”
Other countries, including the UK and UAE, are also involved in the CMCC. Staff and visitors from partner countries have likewise raised concerns about Israeli surveillance activities at the center.
When the CMCC began operations, media in the US and Israel reported that the latter was handing over authority to American forces.
Yet Israel still retains effective control over what enters the territory despite Washington’s considerable leverage, according to one US official.
US forces who arrived at the CMCC, including logistics experts, were keen to increase the flow of aid into Gaza.
But they soon discovered that Israel had implemented a wide range of controls on purported “dual-use” goods, creating a larger impediment than any engineering challenge relating to aid delivery. These included basic goods such as tent poles and chemicals used for water purification.
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel has said he was briefed at the center on “one of the dual-use barriers that was being lifted as a result of the conversations (there).”
It came in response to growing awareness that Israeli restrictions on deliveries stood as the biggest barrier to the entry of aid into Gaza.
Israeli authorities had also restricted basic items such as pencils and paper — required by Palestinian students for school — without explanation.
There is widespread hesitancy among aid organizations and diplomats over joining the CMCC’s efforts, despite being invited to do so.
The center lacks any Palestinian representation, and even US efforts to schedule video calls with Palestinian officials were vetoed by Israeli staff there.
