Israel says it received list of captives set for release from Gaza on Thursday

Three Israeli captives are set to be released by Palestinian groups in Gaza on Thursday in exchange for 110 prisoners in Israeli prisons under a ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas

In a statement, Abu Obaida, a spokesman of Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that three Israelis – Arbel Yehud, Agam Berger, and Gadi Moshe Mozes – will be set free on Thursday.

The Hamas-run Prisoners Media Office said that 110 Palestinian prisoners will also be released by Israel on Thursday.

The set-to-be-freed prisoners include 32 detainees serving life sentences, 48 with lengthy sentences and 30 minors, the media office said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Wednesday evening that it received a list of captives set for release from Gaza on Thursday.

According to Israel’s Army Radio, five Thai nationals and three Israelis, including Yehud, will be freed on Thursday.

Israel has used the case of Yehud to justify delays in allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their areas in northern Gaza from Saturday to Monday morning.

The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.

Seven Israeli captives, including four soldiers, have so far been released in return for 290 Palestinian prisoners since the deal came into force.

Under the first phase of the deal, 33 Israeli captives are set to be released in exchange for an estimated 1,700 to 2,000 Palestinian detainees.

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.