Thursday January 30, 2025 | Idorenyin UMOREN

Israel has delayed today’s scheduled release of 110 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, in protest over chaotic scenes in Gaza earlier today, January 30, 2025, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC, reports.

Three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group.

During one of the handovers at Khan Younis in southern Gaza, crowds swarmed two of the hostages as they were being transferred to the Red Cross.

Armed militants were forced to surround hostages Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Moses, as they were shuffled through the sea of people and in to waiting vehicles.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the scenes as shocking, and revealed the release of Palestinians in exchange for the Israelis would be delayed until the safe exit of other hostages is guaranteed.

Earlier, Hamas has handed over Israeli soldier Agam Berger as the prisoner exchange began in northern Gaza’s Jabalia area.

Three Israeli hostages have now been freed and are back on Israel soil.

The officials named the Israeli trio as two women — 29-year-old Arbel Yehoud and 20-year-old Agam Berger, and Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man.

Ms Berger, dressed in military clothes, was paraded on a stage by Hamas militants before she was handed over to officials.

Militants from Hamas and allied groups of the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees arrived at a site in Khan Younis in Gaza prior to the handover of hostages on Thursday local time, Hamas sources said.

Elsewhere, the two other hostages, Gadi Moses and Arbel Yahud were shown hugging one another in the presence of masked gunmen in black uniforms in a video released by Hamas ally Islamic Jihad.

Ms Yahud was later shown being handed over to the Red Cross surrounded by a surging crowd and armed Palestinian militants.

Israel’s Channel 12 said both hostages have now been handed to the Red Cross.

Five Thai farm workers are also being released from Gaza and are expected to be taken to hospital inside Israel.

In exchange, Israel is releasing 110 prisoners to the West Bank and Gaza.

Twenty of those are being immediately deported outside the Palestinian territories.

Zakaria Zubeidi, a former leader of a Palestinian militant group jailed for attacks that killed several Israelis, was among those released.

This prisoner swap adds to the three Israeli civilians and four soldiers — all women — that have been released so far in the ceasefire, which began on January 19.

In return, Israel has released 290 Palestinian convicts and detainees.

More than 250 hostages were abducted in the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.

Around half were released the following month during the war’s only previous truce, and others have been recovered dead or alive during the fighting.

Israel still lists 90 captives in Gaza, with around 30 declared dead in absentia.
|TheNewsDESK|

*With inputs from ABC news and other agency reports