- Three Israeli captives – Ohad Ben Ami, 56, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Or Levy, 34 – are set to be released in Gaza in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners, in the fifth swap as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel.
- It follows a tense delay that came after Hamas accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire by preventing humanitarian aid and other key supplies from entering Gaza.
- Hamas has said it may not be able to hand over the remains of some Israeli captives because they are among more than 12,000 bodies under the rubble, and Israel is preventing heavy equipment from entering the enclave, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
- The United States Department of State has signed off on the sale to Israel of $6.75bn in bombs, guidance kits and fuses, in addition to $660m in Hellfire missiles.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed a confirmed 47,583 people and injured 111,633, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office has updated the death toll to at least 61,709 people, saying thousands of people who were missing under the rubble are now presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
- Photos: Captives’ release site prepared in Deir el-Balah
[Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]
[Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]
[Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]
[Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]- Here is the process involved in Israeli captives’ releaseReporting from Amman, JordanAl Jazeera is reporting from Jordan because the Israeli government has banned it from operating in Israel and the occupied West Bank. There is a choreographed system when the captives are released.Hamas releases them; they are handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.Then, they are driven to the Israel-Gaza border at an Israeli military base where they are given an identification check and initial medical and psychological evaluation, and they are reunited with one or two immediate family members.Then, they are airlifted to a hospital in central Israel where they will be reunited with the rest of their family and stay there for the next few days.
- Palestinian figters stand guard as people gather in Deir el-Balah before the release of captives held in Gaza, February 8, 2025. [Hatem Khaled/Reuters]
- Israeli army detains two Palestinians in occupied West Bank’s JeninOur Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues, quoting Palestinian sources, report that two brothers were detained by Israeli forces in the town of Yammun, west of the city of Jenin.As we previously reported, the Israeli forces placed several houses under siege in the town overnight.
- Future of Gaza ceasefire deal hangs in balanceA question mark hangs over the future of ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, and the success of the truce may come down to the US, according to the head of a UK-based rights group.Gershon Baskin, Middle East director of the International Communities Organisation, and a former hostage negotiator, told Al Jazeera that talks on the second phase of the agreement have yet to begin, with Israel dispatching a junior team to Doha, Qatar, that has no authority to negotiate.“Netanyahu has not sent the heads of the [negotiating] team, he’s talked about changing the heads of the negotiating team, perhaps to take more control and limit the ability of the team to negotiate a deal,” Baskin said, ahead of the latest captives-for-prisoners exchange.“But there’s no doubt that watching the hostages come home, being reunited with their families … it is strengthening the will of the Israeli public to see that this continues, particularly with regard to those hostages that are still alive,” he added.
- Hamas fighters gather in Deir el-Balah for Israeli captive handoverWe have been reporting on ongoing preparations in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, ahead of the Israeli captive handover, which is anticipated to take place in about 45 minutes.Our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues have now published footage from the scene showing Hamas fighters gathering, with more arriving in the back of pick-up trucks.
- After captives’ release, Israel supposed to withdraw from Netzarim CorridorReporting from Gaza CityAs per the ceasefire agreement, after today’s captives for prisoners release, the Israeli military is supposed to withdraw completely from the Netzarim Corridor and allow free movement back and forth between the southern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip.The Netzarim Corridor has been controlled by the Israeli military since the beginning of the war, impeding movement from the south to the north.Right now, people have to be very careful when they move in the area. Everything has been very unpredictable in the past few weeks since the beginning of the ceasefire.We have seen two vehicles struck by the Israeli military on al-Rashid Street.
LIVE: 3 Israeli captives to be freed in Gaza for 183 Palestinian prisoners
