More Hamas captives and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons have been released under a truce agreement that, while holding, has shown signs of fragility.
It came on of the four-day ceasefire between Gaza’s rulers, , and Israel. More exchanges are expected to occur over the coming days.
Here’s what you need to know.
The Hamas-Israel truce agreement
Under , the two sides agreed to a four-day truce so that 50 women and children under the age of 19 taken hostage could be freed in return for 150 Palestinian women and teenagers in Israeli detention.
The 50 hostages are among about 240 taken by Hamas in
Sides to the deal called the break in hostilities “a “. Israel has said the truce could last beyond the initial four days as long as the militants free at least 10 hostages per day.
Hamas said Israel had agreed to halt air traffic over the north of Gaza from 10am (7pm AEDT) until 4pm (1am AEDT) each day of the truce and to halt all air traffic over the south for the entire period.
The group said Israel agreed not to attack or arrest anyone in Gaza, and people can move freely along Salah al-Din Street, the main road along which many Palestinians have fled northern Gaza where .
Qatar was . Its chief negotiator in , Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, said that under the deal there would be “no attack whatsoever. No military movements, no expansion, nothing.” He said Qatar hoped it would “be a seed to a bigger agreement and a permanent cease of fire.”
Palestinians walk by buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on Saturday. Source: AAP, AP / Adel Hana
The United States also played a crucial role, with US President Joe Biden holding calls with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the weeks leading up to the deal.
Egypt, the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel and which has long played a mediation role over the decades of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was also involved.
The deal had been expected to take effect on Thursday but was delayed after a last-minute hitch.
Who are the Hamas-held hostages and Palestinian prisoners?
In addition to Israeli citizens, more than half the hostages held by Hamas are foreign and dual citizens from some 40 countries including the US, Thailand, Britain, France, Argentina, Germany, Chile, Spain and Portugal, Israel’s government has said.
They were taken from communities, including collective farms, called kibbutzim and military bases in southern Israel as well as people attending an outdoor music festival during Hamas’ 7 October assault.
Of the 300 Palestinian prisoners Israel listed, 33 detainees were adult women and 124 were children under the age of 18. Five of them were 14-year-olds, arrested in the last six months.
Most on a list to be freed are from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jerusalem and were held for incidents such as attempted stabbings, hurling stones at Israeli soldiers, making explosives, damaging property and having contacts with hostile organisations.
None are accused of murder. Many were held under administrative detention, meaning they were held without trial.
A vehicle carrying released hostages arrives at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel on Sunday. Source: AAP, EPA / Abir Sultan
Who has been released so far?
On Friday, Hamas handed over 24 hostages at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. They included 13 Israelis — four children and their mothers, and five elderly women — plus 10 Thais and a Filipino.
In turn, 39 Palestinian women and children were released from Israeli jails.
The deal ran the risk of derailment on Saturday after the armed wing of Hamas said it was delaying the scheduled second round of hostage releases until Israel met all truce conditions, including committing to letting aid trucks into northern Gaza.
The deal was back on course later that day after mediation with Qatar and Egypt, but the short-lived row underscored the fragility of the agreement
The second round saw the release of 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals released from Hamas captivity. They arrived in Israel on Sunday.
Among the Palestinian prisoners released from two Israeli prisons, six were women and 33 were minors, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Some of those released arrived at Al-Bireh Municipality Square in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where thousands of citizens were waiting for them, according to a witness from the Reuters news agency.
Five hostages already regained their freedom in October before the truce.
Palestinian prisoners, released from Israeli prisons, on a bus with Red Cross staff, arrive in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Sunday. Source: Getty, AFP / Ahmad Gharabli
What happens next?
Israel has received the list of hostages to be released in the third round of exchanges and families have been notified, according to Israel’s Prime Minister’s office.
No details were provided on the Palestinian prisoners who could be released.
Israel has said the ceasefire could be extended if Hamas continued to release at least 10 hostages a day. A Palestinian source has said up to 100 hostages could go free, Reuters reported.
US President Joe Biden on Friday . When asked whether the truce could be extended, he said: “I think the chances are real.”
But both sides have promised a return to fighting.
Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, has said that this was a “temporary truce” and called for an “escalation of the confrontation … on all resistance fronts”, including the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant spoke similarly, calling the pause “short” and saying that at its conclusion “the war (and) fighting will continue with great might.”
Israel has vowed to continue fighting Hamas with “great might”. Source: AAP, AP / Tsafrir Abayov
According to Israeli tallies, Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and seized about 240 hostages when they burst across the border fence into southern Israel on 7 October.
In response to that attack, Israel has vowed to destroy the Hamas militants who run Gaza, raining bombs and shells on the enclave and launching a ground offensive in the north.
To date, some 14,800 people, roughly 40 per cent of them children, have been killed, Palestinian health authorities said on Saturday.
Hamas is a Palestinian military and political group, which has gained power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006. Its stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state, while refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist.
Hamas, in its entirety, is designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the US.
New Zealand and Paraguay list only its military wing as a terrorist group. In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly voted against a resolution condemning Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organisation.
