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Hamas to release three Israeli hostages on January 30

Arbel Yehud, who is being held hostage by Hamas' ally, the Palestinian radical Islamic Jihad movement, was supposed to be released on January 25

CAIRO, January 29. /TASS/. The Palestinian Hamas movement will release Israeli citizen Arbel Yehud, Israel Defense Forces soldier Agam Berger and 80-year-old Gadi Moses, who are being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, on January 30, Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement.

"As part of the exchange agreement [with Israel], we decided to release Arbel Yehud, Agam Berger and Gadi Moses on January 30," Ubaida wrote on his Telegram channel.

Arbel Yehud, who is being held hostage by Hamas' ally, the Palestinian radical Islamic Jihad movement, was supposed to be released on January 25 as per the terms of the deal. However, that did not happen, and Israel refused to open a route for the Palestinians going from the south of Gaza to its north, through which the displaced persons could return to their homes. On Monday night, the Israeli prime minister's office said it had received information about the forthcoming release of Arbel Yehud and two other hostages. After that, on the morning of January 27, the IDF allowed Gazans to return to the northern part of the enclave.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on January 15 that Egypt, Qatar and the US brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas to hold a ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages from the enclave. During the 42-day first phase of the deal, Hamas will release 33 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody. The agreement came into force on January 19. On January 25, four women who had been serving in the IDF returned home from Gaza. In exchange, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners, of whom 114 arrived in the West Bank, 16 returned to Gaza, and the remaining 70 were deported to Egypt, where they were met by Hamas senior officials.