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In pictures | In an emotional and long-awaited moment, Hassan Bahar Al-Dam was reunited with his family in Askar refugee camp, Nablus, after spending 21 years in Israeli captivity. His release was part of the prisoner exchange deal secured by the Palestinian resistance.
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14-year-old Ahmad Abdel Halim Saadi was killed this afternoon in an Israeli drone strike on the eastern neighborhood of Jenin, according to medical sources.
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The Palestinian Hamas, Saturday, slammed the repeated US statements on displacing Palestinians from Gaza as “absurd and meaningless.”
In a statement, Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas leader, said the “plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza are absurd and meaningless,” stressing: “What the Israeli occupation failed to achieve by force, will not be accomplished through political maneuvers.”
“The repeated US announcements on displacing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip under the pretext of its reconstruction reflect a persistent complicity in the crime,” Abu Zuhri said according to Anadolu.
The Hamas leader considered the US administration’s insistence on the displacement plans for Gaza’s Palestinians as “a recipe for further chaos and tension in the region.”
On Friday, US President Donald Trump said he is “confident” Egypt and Jordan would take Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, stressing and affirming previous statements on the issue.
“I heard somebody said they’re not going to, but I think they will. I feel confident they will,” Trump said from the Oval Office.
Trump doubled down Thursday on his controversial proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, insisting that Egypt and Jordan would comply, despite their repeated rejections.
“They will do it. They will do it. They’re going to do it, okay? We do a lot for them, and they’re going to do it,” Trump told reporters when asked if he would consider measures to pressure Cairo and Amman to accept his plan.
Trump suggested over the weekend to “clean out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, describing the enclave as a “demolition site” after Israel’s genocidal war.
The two countries, however, vehemently rejected any call for the displacement or relocation of Palestinians from their land.
Trump’s proposal came after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending the Israeli war, that has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Trump’s proposal has received widespread condemnation, with critics calling it “ethnic cleansing” and a “war crime.” Many countries in the Muslim and Arab world as well as European nations such as France have firmly rejected the idea.
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Palestinian prisoners released by Israel on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire and exchange deal said they were treated badly in the days leading to their freedom.
During their reception in Ramallah, occupied West Bank, a number of prisoners said they faced death threats from the Israeli army, endured severe beatings, and were deprived of food and water, according to an Anadolu correspondent on the ground.
The deteriorating health condition of the released prisoners was evident, with some appearing unable to walk on their own, while others were carried in wheelchairs. Many were taken to hospitals for medical checkup and treatment.
“The Israeli prison system subjected the prisoners to brutal beatings before their release, which continued for days, according to numerous testimonies,” the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement.
“In some cases, the beatings resulted in rib fractures.”
The group stressed that Israel systematically terrorizes the to-be-released prisoners and their families through various means, most notably severe beatings and threats, including death threats, if any welcome celebrations are held.
Buses carrying Palestinian prisoners set free arrived in Ramallah and Khan Younis, southern Gaza on Saturday. A total of 183 prisoners were to be freed in the fourth prisoner-hostage swap under the truce.
Three Israeli captives — Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas — were also released by Hamas.
