Israel releases 110 Palestinian prisoners on same day UNRWA ban comes into effect

euronews (in English)

Israel had delayed their release in protest against the way the seven hostages freed by Hamas were treated as they were handed over to Red Cross staff in Khan Younis.

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00:00Israel has released 110 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for eight hostages held by Hamas,

00:08the third such swap since the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect.

00:12The former prisoners were met by thousands of cheering Palestinians as they were bussed

00:16into the West Bank city of Ramallah.

00:19But Israel delayed their release in protest against the way the hostages were treated

00:23as they were handed over to Red Cross staff in Khan Yunis.

00:27The hostages were met with a chaotic scene of rowdy crowds as they were escorted by armed

00:32gunmen.

00:34Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a sharp rebuke, warning of consequences

00:39if any of the hostages were harmed.

00:41During the release of our hostages today, we all saw shivering faces.

00:47We told the reporters that we are not prepared to accept any risk to our hostages.

00:52Hamas has so far released 15 hostages since the 19th of January when the ceasefire came

01:04into effect.

01:06The 110 Palestinians released on Thursday brings the total of prisoners freed by Israel

01:11to 400.

01:12Meanwhile, a law passed last year by the Knesset banning the UN agency for Palestinian refugees

01:19UNWR from operating within Israeli territory also came into force on Thursday.

01:24The agency said it had received no official communication from Israel about how the ban

01:29would be implemented, but 25 international staff have left Jerusalem for the Jordanian

01:34capital, Amman.

01:37It's like a nightmare scenario and it's also completely outlandish that a member state

01:42of the United Nations system would choose to undo the mandate of an organization, which

01:48let's not forget is mandated by the UN General Assembly.

01:52The immediate concern now is aid for Gaza.

01:56Part of phase one of the ceasefire deal makes provision for a marked increase in aid deliveries

02:01to the Strip and UNWR provides more than half of that.

02:05Israel has long been at odds with UNWR, claiming its existence has prolonged the conflict between

02:10Israelis and Palestinians.

02:12It also alleges that around a dozen of UNWR's 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the

02:18Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

02:22The agency denies knowingly aiding armed groups and says it acts quickly to purge any suspected

02:28militants among its staff.

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