Hamas hands three Israeli captives to Red Cross in fourth swap

Hamas has handed over three more Israeli captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners to be released later.   

Two of the captives were released Saturday in the southern city of Khan Yunis in a swift and organized ceremony with a few onlookers, while the third was submitted to the ICRC later in Gaza City in the north.

The Israeli military confirmed that the three captives were in its custody.

In Gaza City where a stage had been erected at a harbor for the handover, ranks of Hamas fighters formed up on the beachfront in a show of force against the dramatic backdrop of breaking waves.

Green Hamas and Palestinian flags flapped in a strong sea breeze near a fisherman's wharf.

The fighters held up portraits of Hamas leaders killed in combat, including Mohammed Deif, its military chief whose death was confirmed by Hamas on Thursday.

"We are the men of Mohammed Deif," they fighters chanted as they brandished their weapons.

In Khan Yunis, an assault rifle, apparently captured from Israeli forces during the fighting in Gaza, had been placed on the table where Red Cross workers exchanged paperwork with a Hamas official. 

Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance fighters have so far freed 18 captives in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them women and minors.

Later Saturday, Israel will free 183 prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group said.

After Saturday's exchange, Gaza's key Rafah border crossing with Egypt is expected to reopen, a Hamas official and a source with knowledge of discussions was quoted as saying.

"The mediators informed Hamas of Israel's approval to open Rafah crossing tomorrow, Saturday, after the completion of the fourth batch of prisoner exchange," the Hamas official said.

Rafah was a vital Gaza aid entry point before the Israeli military seized the Palestinian side of the crossing in May.

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Friday the bloc has deployed a monitoring mission at the crossing "to support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care".

As part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians have been slowly returning to their homes in northern Gaza over the past week.

Under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire, 33 captives held by Hamas in Gaza are to be freed in the first six weeks of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian abductees, many of whom have been serving life sentences in Israeli jails.

On Thursday, Israel released 110 inmates from Ofer prison, including high-profile former military commander Zakaria Zubeidi, who received a hero's welcome in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israel barring essentials from entering Gaza

As part of the ceasefire agreement, a minimum of 600 humanitarian aid trucks are meant to enter Gaza per day.

Several NGOs recently have warned that Israel is continuing to fail in improving Gaza’s access to humanitarian aid despite orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

On Friday, reports said the amount of aid and essential equipment entering Gaza since the ceasefire agreement has not been enough to address the dire humanitarian concerns.

Sources quoted by Al Jazeera network said no reconstruction materials, machinery, or equipment required to clear rubble and search for bodies had been sent.

Thousands of bodies remain trapped under buildings and homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.

“None of the solar energy supplies have been brought in despite the urgent need for them. Not enough medical equipment and supplies have entered the Gaza Strip’s hospitals,” they stated.

An Israeli ban on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) came into effect on Thursday.

It came after months of an Israeli smear campaign and legislation against the UN agency, which Tel Aviv accuses of Hamas links and involvement in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

As a result, the agency is reportedly preparing to shut down its operations in Gaza.

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