Israeli Captives
Trump, speaking at the White House, avoided giving a specific timeline, saying only that “things are going along well.”
Israel’s forensics authority will carry out tests to verify the identity of the individual, Netanyahu’s office said.
The group said the bodies were recovered earlier in the day.
“We are exerting great efforts in order to close this file,” it continued.
Israel also shelved previously planned punitive measures against Hamas, which had included cutting in half the number of aid trucks entering Gaza, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Wednesday.
The image was captioned: “Due to Netanyahu’s obstinacy and Zamir’s submission, this is a farewell photo at the onset of the operation in Gaza [City].”
Trump warned Hamas that “if you don’t let them (the captives) all out, it’s going to be a tough situation. It’s going to be nasty.”
This revelation has sparked outrage among families of the captives, who are seeking clarity on the status of their relatives still being held in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, broadcast a video message from captive Israeli soldier Baron Barslavsky to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Abu Obaida, spokesman for Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, announced on Friday that they will not move the captives from these zones but will keep them under “strict security measures that are extremely dangerous to their lives.”
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that Netanyahu will hold a security consultation this evening.
Tragedy erupted in Israel as authorities claimed that Hamas provided the wrong body of a Palestinian woman from Gaza instead of Shiri Bibas yesterday, as part of the captive-prisoner agreement under the ceasefire.
“All the civilian captives were alive at that time,” said Taher Al-Nunu
These captives are the last living prisoners set to be freed during the first phase of the ceasefire in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
In a message to the family of the Israeli captives’ Bibas and Lifshitz, Hamas said that the movement “would have preferred your sons to return to you alive, but your army and government leaders chose to kill them instead of bringing them back.”
On Saturday, Hamas will release six living Israeli captives, double the number initially agreed upon in the swap. Khalil Al-Hayya said Israel, in return, will release Palestinian prisoners on the same day.
On Telegram, Hamas stated it will release three Zionist captives, including US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, Russian-Israeli Alexandre Sasha Troufanov, and Yair Horn.
In return, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners, with the next swap scheduled for next Saturday as part of the current initial phase of the agreement.
Al-Qassam Brigades decided to release the following Zionist prisoners tomorrow, Saturday, corresponding to 01-02-2025: Ofer Calderon, Keith Shmonsel Segal, and Yarden Bibas.
The foreign ministry confirmed that the first phase will last for 42 days and is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 8:30 AM.
