Israel halts Palestinian prisoner release after Gaza celebrations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to the euphoria in Gaza over the release of Israeli hostages. Shortly after Netanyahu’s statement, it was claimed that the release process of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for Israeli hostages was halted. According to news from Channel 12, Palestinian prisoners who were put on buses to be released were taken off the buses following this decision.

According to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu said he watched the footage of the release of 2 Israeli prisoners in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip with ‘great seriousness’. ‘I ask the mediators to ensure that such unbearable scenes will not be repeated and to guarantee the safety of our hostages,’ Netanyahu said.

In the third round of the prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel, International Red Cross teams received 3 Israeli prisoners – including female soldier Agam Berger, Arbel Yehud, and Gadi Moses – along with 5 Thai citizens in Gaza.

Especially the dense crowd in the area where the house of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, was located in Khan Yunis attracted attention. There was great enthusiasm during the release of the prisoners, and they had difficulty walking through the crowd as they were handed over.

Citing these images as an excuse, it was claimed that Israel stopped the release process of 110 Palestinian prisoners who were to be released in return for 3 Israeli hostages.

It was known that Israel was uncomfortable with Hamas’ demonstrations during the prisoner swap process.

In the first two rounds of the prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel, 7 Israeli prisoners in Gaza and 290 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons were released.