Author name: Helping Gaza

Palestinians are temporarily safe from bombardment, but the UN said Gaza saw an ‘intensification’ of Israeli strikes ahead of truce. Palestinians in the war-stricken Gaza Strip are experiencing a second day of relative calm absent of Israeli attacks as a temporary pause in fighting holds. After almost 50 days of constant Israeli bombardment that has killed nearly 15,000 Palestinians in the enclave, a four-day truce came into effect from early Friday and appeared to be proceeding unhindered on Saturday. KEEP READING list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4 WHO concerned about al-Shifa chief detained by Israel, remaining patients list 2 of 4 Can Israel’s economy withstand a prolonged war on Gaza? list 3 of 4 Hamas captives and Palestinian women and children freed from Israeli jails list 4 of 4 Palestinians released from prison reunite with loved ones end of list But the United Nations said on Friday that “the 24 hours prior to the pause witnessed an intensification of Israeli strikes from air, land and sea” throughout Gaza. The temporary truce has allowed the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza – where no place has proven safe in the past seven weeks – to experience their first night of sleep without the fear of being killed in an Israeli air raid. It also provided some time for families to try to secure supplies of food and water, which have become scarce amid the unrelenting assault on the besieged enclave. Some chose to go back to the northern parts of Gaza – which have seen the worst of the fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas – amid a ground invasion of the area by Israeli troops supported by heavy machinery and air strikes. Several Palestinians were killed on their way north as Israel ordered them to stay in the south. Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said some Palestinians had a chance to visit surviving family members. “It’s also an opportunity for those who lost loved ones and friends or family members to pay them respects and offer them a prayer, as funeral processions and proper burials were not permissible under heavy bombardment and relentless air strikes,” Mahmoud said. More captives to be released Palestinian journalist Ismail Abu Omar on Saturday shared a video – verified by Al Jazeera – that shows a man searching for his family’s clothes from under the rubble of their Gaza home, which was destroyed in the Israeli onslaught. Palestinian photojournalist Magdi Fathi has documented the testimonies of several displaced women who say nothing is left of their homes in Khan Younis amid Israel’s bombardment of the enclave. “I came to my house to take out some things, but I did not find anything. The Israeli army destroyed the place in a way that we did not expect,” said one woman, who was among the thousands who returned to their neighbourhoods after the start of the truce yesterday. Another woman, a resident of Khuzaa in eastern Khan Younis, said she was “shocked” by what she found. “The destruction is very big,” she said. Khan Younis is one of the southern cities where residents of northern Gaza were ordered by Israel to evacuate to, but it has been repeatedly attacked by Israeli forces. As part of the truce, 24 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were released on Friday, 13 of whom are Israelis. More are expected to be let go, as the Israeli prime minister’s office said it had received a list of captives to be released on Saturday. Reports indicate 42 Palestinians are expected to be released in exchange for 14 captives in Gaza. Friday also saw the release of 39 Palestinian women and children who had been detained by Israel, some of them for years. They returned to their homes in the occupied West Bank. During the four days of the pause, at least 50 people are expected to be freed by Hamas, leaving an estimated 190 captives in Gaza. In exchange, 150 Palestinians are expected to be released by Israel. The truce, which could potentially be extended, allowed the first aid deliveries since the start of the war to arrive in northern Gaza. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.605.0_en.html#goog_1973973669Play Video What happened in Gaza before the truce deal

Thirty-nine Palestinian women and children are expected to be released from Israeli jails on Friday during a pause in fighting. Published On 24 Nov 202324 Nov 2023 After seven weeks of war, the four-day truce between Israel and Hamas began on Friday morning. Under this truce, 39 Palestinian women and children were released on Friday. Here is what’s known about those released and those who might be released in the coming days. KEEP READING list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4 Over 10,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails list 2 of 4 Prisoner exchange? Israeli captive families demand answers from Netanyahu list 3 of 4 Israel-Hamas deal: Which captives, Palestinian prisoners could be freed? list 4 of 4 Anxious, optimistic: Families of female Palestinian prisoners await release end of list Who were the prisoners released on Friday? Of the 39 Palestinians released by Israel, 17 are minors. They are: Zeina and Noor are girls, the others are boys. The remaining 22 of the Palestinians released on Friday are women. They are: When and how were they released? They were transferred from Israeli prisons to the Israel-controlled Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank in the early evening. Advertisement At 8pm local time (18:00 GMT), they were released from Ofer in International Committee of the Red Cross buses. Who might be released next? Israel has agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and children prisoners from its jails in exchange for Hamas releasing 50 of the women and children taken captive during the October 7 attack. But the Israeli Ministry of Justice presented a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners who it is considering for release. It is unclear whether this might be an offer for a potential second phase of exchanges since the deal allows for the extension of a pause in fighting by one day for every 10 additional captives Hamas releases. Sign up for Al Jazeera Week in the Middle East Catch up on our coverage of the region, all in one place.Sign up By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy protected by reCAPTCHA The list of 300 comprises 33 women. The majority of the rest of the names are of boys aged 16-18. However, there are also boys as young as 14 on the list. Most of the prisoners on the list were arrested between 2021 and 2023. The prisoners arrested in 2023 were taken before October 7. Advertisement However, it also includes individuals like Shorouq Dwayyat, who was arrested in 2015 and is serving the ninth year of her 16-year sentence. Dwayyat is currently serving the longest sentence among Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli jails. She was 18 when she was arrested and held in the Damon prison in Haifa, accused of stabbing an Israeli settler with a knife. Her family, anxiously anticipating her release, denies these accusations. “Shorouq is delicate and cannot harm an animal,” her father, Salah Dwayyat, told Al Jazeera at the time. Why are they in prison? Like Dwayyat, many other prisoners have been convicted of crimes including carrying and manufacturing knives and daggers. Other common offences detailed in Israel’s list include: “The main alleged crime for these detentions is stone-throwing, which can carry a 20-year sentence in prison for Palestinian children,” said a report published in July by children’s rights organisation, Save the Children. Israeli publication Haaretz reported that Israel has refused to release people convicted of murder but those convicted of attempted murder could be released. Where will the Palestinian prisoners go after their release? Under the deal, Palestinian prisoners will be taken from two Israeli prisons southeast of Haifa, namely Damon and Megiddo. They will then be taken to Israel’s military Ofer prison. Advertisement There, they will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross and after they are received, “the ones from Jerusalem will go to Jerusalem, and the ones from the West Bank will gather in Betunia municipal council where their families will be waiting”, added Fares. Israel has barred celebrations in Palestinian communities over the return of prisoners. How many Palestinian prisoners are in Israeli jails? There are 19 prisons within Israel and one inside the occupied West Bank holding Palestinian prisoners. Before October 7, there were about 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli custody. However, following the Hamas attack of October 7, the number of Palestinians arrested skyrocketed and 3,000 more were arrested. Of those arrested after October 7, 37 are journalists. Palestinian prisoner support and human rights association Addameer reported that most of these journalists were subjected to administrative detention, which means they are held indefinitely behind bars without facing trial or charges. Addameer also reported that the detainees are subjected to physical violence and medical negligence in prisons. The report cited an example of a prisoner who suffers from blood disease and asthma. The prisoner was assaulted, resulting in wounds and bruises on his head and eyes. The association reported that this prisoner has lost 10kg since his arrest. Some Palestinian prisoners have been in Israeli jails for more than 30 years, since before the Oslo Accords were signed. The term “deans of prisoners” is sometimes locally used to refer to them, reported Samidoun, an international Palestinian prisoner solidarity network. At least 700 Palestinian children under the age of 18 from the occupied West Bank are prosecuted every year through Israeli military courts after being arrested, interrogated and detained by the Israeli army. Children in Israeli detention often suffer physical, psychological and sexual abuse, and some are deprived of food, water and sleep, according to Save the Children. Advertisement https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.605.0_en.html#goog_1800504283Play Video Video Duration 01 minutes 45 seconds01:45Stolen childhoods: Hundreds of Palestinian minors held in Israeli jails

For Israel, violence is not incidental, accidental or coincidental. It is part and parcel of its colonial DNA. The gruesome scenes of death and destruction in Gaza are a reminder that for Israel, violence is not incidental, accidental or coincidental. It is part and parcel of its colonial DNA. Like the French in Algeria, the Dutch in Indonesia and South Africa, the Belgians in the Congo, the Spaniards in South America and the Europeans in North America, the Zionists have also dehumanised the natives of the land as a precursor to or justification for guilt-free repression and violence. But colonialism must not be conflated with Judaism. If anything, the Jews have historically been the victims of racism for centuries, rendering many of them anti-colonialists. KEEP READING list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4 Gaza truce holds into second day, more captives to be released list 2 of 4 Family celebrates return of freed Palestinian prisoner Marah Bakeer list 3 of 4 WHO concerned about al-Shifa chief detained by Israel, remaining patients list 4 of 4 Can Israel’s economy withstand a prolonged war on Gaza? end of list In 1948, Israel was established on the ruins of another people, the Palestinians. It was made into a Jewish majority state through the deliberate ethnic cleansing of the land’s 750,000 Palestinian inhabitants. Since then, Israel has maintained security through state repression, military occupation, bloody wars and countless massacres against civilians. Nazareth, the city of my birth, was one of the few to be spared from ethnic cleansing but only because a military commander named Benjamin Dunkelman, a Canadian Jew who led the 7th Brigade of the Israeli army, refused to carry out his superiors’ evacuation order for this Christian majority city, as he later wrote, mainly out of fear of the international repercussions. About 400 other Palestinian towns and villages were not so lucky. They were all depopulated, and a majority was entirely decimated. Their inhabitants were either killed or kicked out. The properties in them were either demolished or confiscated. They were given new Hebrew names. Those Palestinians who tried to return to their homes were either shot or forcibly sent to neighbouring countries. In his book, Sacred Landscape: The Buried History of the Holy Land Since 1948, Meron Benvenisti, an Israeli political scientist, writes: “Not since the end of the Middle Ages had the civilised world witnessed the wholesale appropriation of the sacred sites of a defeated religious community by members of the victorious one.” Since then, Israel has set its eyes on the people per se, regardless of its leadership or theirs. Palestinians are seen by Israel either as an enemy from within that must be eradicated or as a demographic threat that needs to be removed. It is no coincidence that since its inception, Israel has established an oppressive regime of “Jewish superiority”. This regime was extended after the 1967 war and occupation to the entirety of historic Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Hence the Palestinian cry, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” For decades, Israel has used disproportionate force and carried out countless massacres against Palestinian civilians as a form of revenge, punishment and deterrence. Last month, the Palestinians commemorated the 70th anniversary of the massacre of Qibya, where, in retaliation for a Palestinian attack on an Israeli settlement that killed three people, including two children, Israeli forces under the leadership of Ariel Sharon attacked the West Bank village of about 2,000 inhabitants, killing 69 Palestinians, mostly women and children. That same vengeful mindset has been applied 70 years later in Gaza. It is a deterrence strategy, deliberately aimed at harming civilians to distance them from their leaders and the groups fighting in their name. Today, the Israeli propaganda machine is busy collating desperate and angry cries, real and manufactured, from Gaza residents projecting blame on Hamas for bringing Israel’s wrath upon them. Israel never accepts an “eye for an eye” in its confrontations with the Palestinians. It insists on a ratio of 1 to 10 or 20 when it comes to its civilian casualties vs Palestinian civilian casualties. Hence, the Palestinian civilian must pay a heavy price in each and every clash, regardless of any moral or legal consideration. Nowhere is the dissymmetry more pervasive than in Israel’s 56-year military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, which by its very nature is a perpetual system of violence against civilians. Generation after generation of Palestinians have had to endure a racist, gruesome and illegal military occupation that has included daily humiliations, collective punishment, land confiscations, and the destruction of lives and livelihoods. For Gaza, this has meant a 17-year siege of the strip through a dreadful and inhumane military blockade, military incursions, bombings of civilian infrastructure and more. Although Israel claims it has “no choice”, its occupation is in fact driven by strategy, not by necessity. Throughout the past six decades, Israel has controlled the Palestinian territories in part to colonise them through hundreds of illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian lands, in part to hold their population hostage until their leaders accept its political dictates, which is by definition a form of state terrorism, which means using violence against civilians for political ends. Another important factor behind Israel’s violence against Palestinian civilians, as I explained here, is hatred – hatred that is propelled by fear, envy and anger. Israel fears all that is Palestinian steadfastness, Palestinian unity, Palestinian resistance, Palestinian poetry and all Palestinian national symbols. Such fear generates hatred because a state that is always afraid cannot be free. Israel is angry at the Palestinians for refusing to give up or give in, for not going away – far away. They refuse to cede their basic rights, let alone concede defeat. Israel is also envious of Palestinian inner power and outward pride. It is envious of their strong beliefs and readiness to sacrifice. In short, Israel hates the people of Palestine for impeding the realisation of the Zionist utopia over all historical Palestine. And it especially hates

Twenty-four hostages were released from Gaza and 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails amid a four-day cease-fire, causing jubilation in the West Bank and hope in Israel. Raucous crowds packed West Bank streets to celebrate the release of Palestinians under an agreement expected to result in the release of 50 hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza. Among those released by militants were 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and one Filipino, a Qatari official said.  The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it has received a list of hostages to be released tomorrow and has been in touch with their loved ones. Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the releases brought a “great sense of relief.” Speaking during a national address, U.S. President Joe Biden said, “It’s only a start, but so far it’s gone well.” Hagari later issued more sober remarks during a video address in which he reminded Israelis and supporters of the state that many more hostages needed to be released — an estimated 240 were being held before the releases began — and Hamas needed to be eradicated. “Today the world watched and breathed a collective sigh of relief,” he said. But he added, “But we must never lose sight of … babies who were not reunited with their loved ones, who are still being held by Hamas.” The IDF warned Gaza residents who moved south not to return to the war-torn north amid the cease-fire, indicating that more bloody warfare was likely when the cease-fire ends. More than 1.7 million people have been displaced in Gaza, and the death toll has surpassed 14,500, health officials in Gaza have said. Hagari said it’s not over yet. Fighting must resume in order to secure the freedom of all the hostages, put an end to enemy Hamas and its threat to Israel’s existence and ensure that Oct. 7 happens “never again,” he said. What we know NEW UPDATES

Men, women and children travelled from the places where they have sought refuge to inspect their damaged homes. With children and pets in their arms and their belongings loaded onto donkey carts or car roofs, thousands of displaced Gaza Palestinians have set off for home as a four-day Israel-Hamas truce began. The din of war was replaced on Friday by the horns of traffic jams and sirens of ambulances making their way through crowds emerging from hospitals and schools where they had taken refuge. For nearly seven weeks, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip had been relentless. Some 1.7 million of the territory’s 2.4 million people are estimated to have been displaced, and more than half of homes damaged or destroyed, the United Nations says. But on Friday morning, no shots were heard in Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian territory. Crowds of men, women and children travelled on foot, carts or tuk-tuks with the few belongings they had taken with them when the war started. Large parts of Gaza have been flattened by thousands of air raids, and the territory faces shortages of food, water and fuel. Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets warning people in the south not to head back to the north, where it had previously told Palestinians to leave for their safety. “The war is not over yet,” they read. “Returning to the north is forbidden and very dangerous!!!”

Their release was outside of truce between Israel and Hamas, in which 13 Israelis were freed for 39 Palestinians. Hamas has released a group of 10 Thai nationals and one citizen from the Philippines who were being held in Gaza, as part of a separate agreement to the one between Israel and the Palestinian group that saw Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being freed. Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson of the foreign ministry in Qatar – which has played a key mediating role – said on Friday that the Thai nationals and Filipino were among a total of 24 captives who were released. KEEP READING list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3 Amid Gaza war, activists in Argentina aim to expel Israeli water company list 2 of 3 Palestinians return to destroyed homes in Gaza as Israel-Hamas truce begins list 3 of 3 UN agencies hope truce will allow aid into northern Gaza end of list The Thai nationals, he said, were “currently on their way out of the strip” with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). They were not covered by the truce deal between Hamas and Israel, and Qatar and Egypt mediated a separate deal with Hamas, Thai officials said. That negotiation track was opened when Thailand’s foreign minister visited Qatar on October 31, which led to a specific agreement with Hamas to release the Thais, the officials added. Thai nationals were the single biggest group of foreigners taken captive. But Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted earlier on X that he had received confirmation of the release of 12 nationals and that Thai embassy officials were to pick them up. The group was brought to Rafah and then to the Karem Abu Salem crossing, called Kerem Shalom by Israel, east of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. They were transported to a processing point at the Hatzerim Air Force base and were to be taken to the Shamir Medical Centre, southeast of Tel Aviv. “At this time, the gender and names of these Thais are not known,” the ministry statement said. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.605.0_en.html#goog_2063828846Play Video four days enough time to provide Palestinians with the humanitarian aid they need?| Inside Story Apart from Qatar and Egypt, the ministry also thanked Israel, Iran, Malaysia and the ICRC. Iran and Thailand maintain friendly relations and prominent members of Thailand’s Muslim minority made unofficial trips to Tehran to seek the captives’ freedom, The Associated Press news agency reported. Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara had said that his Iranian counterpart, who was serving as Thailand’s intermediary with Hamas, had told him there would be “good news soon”, the report said. At least 23 Thai workers are believed to be among the estimated 240 people who were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7 attack. An additional 32 Thai workers were killed in the attack in southern Israel. According to the Thai ministry, some 30,000 Thais were employed mainly in Israel’s agricultural sector at the time of the attack. More than 8,600 Thai workers have been voluntarily repatriated since then. Under an agreement with Israel, Thai workers are paid a minimum wage of 5,300 shekels a month ($2,000), six or seven times more than they earn at home. Qatar has led weeks of intense negotiations, coordinating with the United States and Egypt, to reach an agreement for the freeing of 50 civilian hostages from Gaza in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a brief truce and access to humanitarian aid. Thirteen Israelis, including dual nationals, were released by Hamas on Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged that the captive release deal would not spell the end of the war, saying Israel would continue its push to “eliminate” Hamas. Benny Gantz, a part of Israel’s war cabinet, reiterated at a solidarity rally for the families of captives in Tel Aviv that the army will resume fighting after the humanitarian pause. “I want to assure the families of all the hostages: We will not stop. We will resume the efforts and the military action in Gaza to retrieve the hostages and restore deterrence,” Gantz said. In his first statement since the Israeli captives were released, Netanyahu said that their return was “one of the aims of the war and we are committed to achieving all the aims of the war”.

While welcoming pause in hostilities and entry of supplies, UN health agency chief says ‘much more is needed’. United Nations agencies have welcomed the entry of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip from Egypt after a truce got under way between Israel and Hamas but said more needs to be done to deal with the massive humanitarian crisis in the enclave after seven weeks of war. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was working on more evacuations from hospitals, which have been repeatedly attacked by Israeli forces. KEEP READING list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4 Israel-Hamas truce comes into effect: How it could now unfold list 2 of 4 Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 49 list 3 of 4 ‘The war is not over’: Israel blocks Palestinians’ return to northern Gaza list 4 of 4 Israeli forces open fire to stop people returning to north Gaza end of list WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the entry of aid into Gaza was a “step in the right direction” but “much more is needed”. “We continue to call for a sustainable ceasefire to end further civilian suffering,” he posted on X. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1728027076664471619&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2F2023%2F11%2F24%2Fun-agencies-hope-truce-will-allow-aid-in-gaza&sessionId=6a0323b195df65ffc8bf32a4fc7f4b39e82dd40b&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px Aid agencies have said they are aiming to deliver supplies to northern Gaza, where hospitals have collapsed because of Israeli bombing and the lack of fuel and where there are major concerns about dehydration and disease outbreaks. Aid deliveries are so far only being allowed through Rafah, Gaza’s one border crossing with Egypt in the southern part of the enclave, and not through its crossings with Israel. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that on the first day of the pause, 200 trucks were dispatched from Nitsana to the Rafah crossing, while 137 trucks of goods were offloaded by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reception point in Gaza making it the biggest humanitarian convoy received since October 7. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1728133887182676173&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2F2023%2F11%2F24%2Fun-agencies-hope-truce-will-allow-aid-in-gaza&sessionId=6a0323b195df65ffc8bf32a4fc7f4b39e82dd40b&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px It also said that 129,000 litres (34,000 gallons) of fuel and four trucks of gas crossed into Gaza, adding that 21 critical patients were evacuated in a large-scale medical operation from the north of Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people were assisted with food, water, medical supplies and other essential humanitarian items, OCHA said in its update. Asked earlier whether the UN had guarantees from Israel that it could deliver aid to the north, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said: “We proceed on the basis of the hope and the expectation that we will reach people in need where they are.” Before the conflict started in October, nearly 10,000 truckloads of commercial and humanitarian commodities, excluding fuel, entered Gaza monthly, according to the UN. On Friday, OCHA said in a statement that 80 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered from Egypt on the previous day. Gaza resident Ashraf Shann told Al Jazeera that people were happy that “some sort of aid is coming” into the enclave. “My family is made up of 12 people, and we are internally displaced persons. This is the first time this has happened to us,” he said. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received two ambulances and 85 aid trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies and medicines. While about 200 aid trucks are expected to enter Gaza during the four-day humanitarian pause, PRCS spokesperson Nebal Farsakh told Al Jazeera that it was a “drop in the ocean”. “The situation has gone beyond catastrophic at a humanitarian level and a medical level … The complete health sector now is collapsing during this ongoing escalation,” Farsakh said. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1727994088782278828&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2F2023%2F11%2F24%2Fun-agencies-hope-truce-will-allow-aid-in-gaza&sessionId=6a0323b195df65ffc8bf32a4fc7f4b39e82dd40b&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px Hospital evacuations under way WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said the agency was working on further hospital evacuations as soon as possible. “We’re extremely concerned about the safety of the estimated 100 patients and health workers remaining at al-Shifa”, referring to the largest medical complex in Gaza, which was a major focus of Israel’s ground offensive. Lindmeier declined to react to comments from Gaza’s Ministry of Health that it was suspending cooperation with the global health agency amid reports that Israel was holding medical staff for questioning. Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told the Reuters news agency that its local partner had a convoy of ambulances heading north to evacuate patients from Ahli Arab Hospital. “We do hope that this pause in the fighting will give us the possibility of reaching all the people in Gaza, including areas in the north where it was impossible to have access,” he said. PRCS posted on X that along with UN teams they evacuated 25 patients and wounded people, and 20 of their companions, from Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City to the European Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. About 120 other people, including medical staff and those injured, were still trapped in the hospital, the organisation said. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.605.0_en.html#goog_87499735

Around 150 Palestinian prisoners and 50 civilian captives held in Gaza are to be released over four days under Israel-Hamas deal. Israel has released 39 women and children prisoners after Hamas freed 13 civilian captives in exchange under a Qatar-mediated deal that includes a four-day truce in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians had gathered in anticipation on Friday outside the Ofer prison, where Israel had transferred those who were to be released, while others congregated in Palestinian towns. KEEP READING list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4 Palestinians return to destroyed homes in Gaza as Israel-Hamas truce begins list 2 of 4 Amid Gaza war, activists in Argentina aim to expel Israeli water company list 3 of 4 Hamas releases 24 captives amid Israel truce: Here’s what’s to know list 4 of 4 Hamas releases 24 hostages from Gaza on first day of Israel truce end of list At 8pm local time (18:00 GMT), two International Committee of the Red Cross buses were seen leaving Ofer. According to the AFP news agency, 28 prisoners were released in the occupied West Bank, and 11 others were brought to East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club NGO. Marah Bakeer, who was among those released in Jerusalem, says she was informed this morning that she was going to be leaving prison. She told Al Jazeera police carried out a DNA test and told her she would not be allowed to celebrate upon being released. “I’m a little nervous and stunned; I can’t believe I’m out,” she said. “The years spent in jail were hard,” Bakeer said. “But I have a strong personality … and faith in God.” Her family’s ongoing support helped her overcome “difficult times” during eight years in detention, she added. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.605.0_en.html#goog_828963445Play Video Video Duration 27 minutes 50 seconds27:50Is four days enough time to provide Palestinians with the humanitarian aid they need?| Inside Story Feride Najeh, who was among the prisoners released in Beitunia, told Al Jazeera that she was “very happy” with the deal. “We haven’t eaten anything since this morning,” Najeh, who was serving a three-year sentence, said. “They took us in a violent way and they did not let us take our stuff.” “I am very happy with this deal. I would like to thank Gazan people for their resistance.” Thirteen Israeli captives, including dual nationals, have been released under the Israel-Hamas deal. At least 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino were released under a different framework, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, which mediated the separate deal. The Red Cross has confirmed the release of the 24 civilian captives in Gaza. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.605.0_en.html#goog_1509833382Play Video Video Duration 05 minutes 04 seconds05:04Today’s captive release ‘only a start’, Biden says Under the Israel-Hamas deal, a total of 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and 50 civilian captives held by Hamas are to be released over a four-day period that will see a pause in fighting in Gaza. Among those gathered at the prison, one woman Al Jazeera spoke to said that she had come all the way from Tulkarem, a city near the boundary with Israel in the West. On the way, she was “stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint, and heavily interrogated there,” Stratford said, “highlighting the difficulties that Palestinians face in terms of freedom of movement across the occupied territories.” “Another father of a 17-year-old boy … said he was not going to be celebrating the release because so many thousands of people have been, in his words, ‘martyred’ in the buildup to this deal,” Stratford said, “so again highlighting the mixed emotions here.” Approximately 8,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails, including 3,000 who were detained in the last seven weeks amid increasing Israeli raids across the West Bank.

What’s behind the raid of Gaza’s largest hospital by Israeli forces? While hundreds of sick and wounded Palestinians are actively seeking shelter at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Israeli forces have launched a full-scale military raid. We ask what, if anything, is under the hospital, and as global outcry for a ceasefire grows louder, what will it take for the fighting to end? KEEP READING list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4 The Take: Detained, tortured and banned – Workers from Gaza in Israel list 2 of 4 The Take: What can protests do to block military aid from the US to Israel? list 3 of 4 The Take: Forced to leave Pakistan, where can Afghan refugees go? list 4 of 4 The Take: Arrests and harassment threaten Palestinians in Israel end of list In this episode:  Episode credits: This episode was produced by Khaled Soltan, Zaina Badr and Amy Walters with our host Kevin Hirten, in for Malika Bilal. Fahrinisa Campana fact-checked this episode. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer.