Negotiations ongoing after Hamas releases 2 Israeli prisoners with Egyptian-Qatari mediation on Monday

Two more Israeli nationals who were taken prisoner in an unprecedented October 7 operation by the Qassam Brigades were released on Monday evening.

Egypt and Qatar played a role in negotiating the release of the two elderly detainees, with sources saying that both countries are still negotiating for a larger release of 50 more prisoners. 

Over two weeks ago, Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, launched a military operation, killing over 1,400 Israelis and taking more than 200 prisoners. Since then, Israel has carried out a relentless assault on the Gaza Strip that killed more than 5,791 people and injured over 16,297 , with Hamas stating that over 20 Israeli prisoners have been killed in the airstrikes.

With over 220 Israeli prisoners still reportedly held in the strip — which has been cut off from all food, water, fuel and medical supplies since the beginning of Israel’s assault, 17 days ago, there is growing  concern among their families about the consequences of Israel’s imminent ground invasion for their loved ones. 

In a video broadcast on Monday by Qassam Brigades, which said the releases were coordinated through mediation by Egypt and Qatar, the two detainees, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Yitzhak, 79, were shown being picked up by the International Committee of the Red Cross at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Sinai.

Lifshitz and Yitzhak arrived at a Tel Aviv hospital with their families, said Israel's public broadcaster on Tuesday morning.

Lifshitz said, during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, that when the prisoners arrived at the place where they were kept, Hamas fighters told them that both Jews and Muslims could eat the same food with no religious problems, so they were given the same food their captors ate.

She said that she and the other prisoners were treated well and that all their needs were met, including food, water, medicine, and antibiotics, and even shampoo and conditioner, stressing that the place they were held in was clean and humane. She added that their place of detention was bombed several times, describing the experience of being under fire as “terrifying.”

Official spokesman for the Qassam Brigades Abu Obeida stated that Hamas facilitated the detainees’ release “despite the occupation committing over eight infractions of the procedures agreed upon with mediators for the release.” Abu Obeida did not clarify what the infractions were.

Hamas had previously expressed its willingness to release Yitzhak and Lifshitzs for “humanitarian” reasons, but Israel refused, according to Abu Obeida.

Following the claim, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it would not respond to "Hamas' propaganda lies." But concern is growing among the families of the Israeli prisoners still held by Hamas, who are now holding daily protests outside Netanyahu’s office in Tel Aviv to ensure their safe return remains central to the government’s actions.

Netanyahu thanked both Egypt and the Red Cross for their roles in freeing and transporting the hostages, pledging to "continue to work with the best capabilities, and make every effort, to locate all of the missing and bring all of the captives back home.”

Israeli media also reported that Egypt and Qatar were mediating negotiations with Hamas for the release of 50 more prisoners and that their progress was interrupted by obstacles on Monday. 

Anonymous Israeli officials cited in the Times of Israel and unnamed officials from Gaza cited in i24news are quoted as saying that Hamas is conditioning the release of prisoners with dual citizenship on Israel permitting fuel to enter Gaza. Israel has placed tight controls on aid going into Gaza, including a total ban on the entry of fuel and the delivery of aid to the northern part of the strip, as well as security checks on aid shipments. 

Meanwhile, sources said that Israel seeks the release of all hostages before allowing fuel to enter Gaza, as it fears Hamas will use the fuel for military purposes.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in Gaza announced on Tuesday that without fuel, hospitals, bakeries and essential water desalination plants across the strip will be unable to operate. Thomas White, the director of UNRWA in Gaza, said on Tuesday that the agency has only three days' worth of fuel left, which will ultimately mean it cannot distribute aid as well.

Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden discussed the prisoner situation in a phone call on Monday evening, with Biden welcoming the two releases.

A senior diplomatic official told The Times of Israel on Saturday that the United States and several European countries were quietly urging Israel to temporarily delay its planned ground invasion to allow more time for negotiations to release the prisoners. 

Yet, Israel doesn’t seem to be responding. Negotiations were ongoing for two weeks to secure the release of the first two hostages, whom Hamas agreed to free even as Israel turned down its request to halt constant airstrikes on Gaza. On Friday, Hamas decided to release two Americans, a mother and daughter, for “humanitarian reasons” in response to Qatari mediations.  

The two hostages, who were captured on October 7 from a kibbutz called Nahal Oz in southern Israel, were met at the Gaza border by Israeli Brigadier General Gal Hirsch who escorted them to a military base in Israel where they were reunited with their relatives.

The release of the two Americans may have contributed to pushing Israel to agree to let 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Gaza on Saturday morning, sources told the NYTimes.  

According to the newspaper's sources, Hamas agreed, in principle, to free all civilians including foreign nationals, if Israel pauses its strikes on Gaza, but stressed that it would only consider releasing the Israeli soldiers it had captured in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, whose number is in the thousands.