Israel and Hamas completed their fifth hostage-prisoner swap under a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal on Saturday, with the frail, disoriented appearance of the three freed Israelis sparking dismay among their relatives.
Out of the 183 inmates released by Israel in return, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said seven required hospitalisation, decrying “brutality” and mistreatment in jail.
An AFP correspondent later reported that more than 100 Palestinian prisoners had arrived in Gaza.
The fifth exchange since the truce took effect last month comes as negotiations are set to begin on the next phase of the ceasefire, which is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war.
But senior Hamas official Bassem Naim on Saturday said Israel’s “procrastination and lack of commitment in implementing the first phase… exposes this agreement to danger and thus it may stop or collapse”.
He also described, in an interview with AFP, the condition of the hostages as “acceptable under the difficult circumstances that the Gaza Strip was living”
