Israel orders negotiators to Doha after fifth hostage-prisoner swap

DEIR EL-BALAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered negotiators on Saturday to return to Qatar to discuss the fragile ceasefire in the war with Hamas, after the fifth hostage-prisoner swap agreed under the truce was completed.

The fifth exchange since the truce took effect last month came as negotiations were set to begin on the next phase of the ceasefire, which is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war.

The ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 17 more hostages during the remainder of the 42-day first phase.

Netanyahu repeated his vow to crush Hamas and free all remaining hostages, denouncing the militant group as “monsters” after the handover of three captives in Gaza who appeared emaciated and were forced to speak on a stage.

The hospital treating the three Israeli hostages released from Gaza on Saturday said Or Levy and Eli Sharabi were in a “poor medical condition,” while Ohad Ben Ami was in a “severe nutritional state.”

Of the 183 inmates released by Israel in return, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said seven required hospitalization and decried “brutality” and mistreatment in jail.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim on Saturday said in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the condition of the hostages as “acceptable under the difficult circumstances that the Gaza Strip was living.”

Meanwhile, the Israeli military completed its withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor on a key highway in Gaza on Sunday as part of an ongoing ceasefire deal, a Hamas official told AFP.

“Israeli forces have dismantled their positions and military posts and completely withdrawn their tanks from the Netzarim Corridor on Salaheddin Road, allowing vehicles to pass freely in both directions,” the official from the Hamas-run interior ministry said.