CAIRO, January 30. /TASS/. The radical Palestinian group Islamic Jihad has handed over two Israeli hostages to its allies to secure their release on Thursday as part of an additional exchange with Israel, a statement published on the Telegram channel of the Saraya al-Quds group (Jerusalem Brigades), the organization’s military wing, said.
"Two Israeli hostages, Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses, were transferred [to allies] and will be released today (on Thursday) as part of the agreement [with Israel]," the document reads. The footage released by the radicals shows Yehud and the 80-year-old Moses meeting each other before being sent to the Islamic Jihad's allies to later be freed. Details on where and when the video was recorded are not provided.
Earlier, Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the Palestinian Hamas movement’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, announced that alongside the hostages held by Islamic Jihad, Agam Berger, who had been undergoing compulsory service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was also set to be freed on January 30.
Arbel Yehud was supposed to be released on January 25 as per the terms of the agreement. When that did not occur, Israel refused to open a route for Palestinians traveling from the south of the Gaza Strip to its north, through which displaced persons could return to their homes. However, on Monday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had received information about the forthcoming release of Arbel Yehud and two other hostages. Following that, the IDF allowed Gazans to return to the northern part of the enclave on the morning of January 27.
On January 15, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that Egypt, Qatar, and the US had brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas to implement a ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages from the enclave. During the 42-day first phase of the deal, Hamas is to release 33 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.