Released Israeli Female Soldiers Thank Hamas Fighters For Their Good Treatment

The Al-Qassam Brigades published a video clip, Saturday evening, showing 4 Israeli female soldiers released, expressing their gratitude in Arabic to the Palestinian factions for the good treatment they received during their captivity and for preserving their lives despite the violent Israeli bombardment.

The video, which was broadcast by Al-Qassam via its Telegram account, shows the female soldiers in a car while they were being transported to be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, as part of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel with international and regional mediation.

While they were inside the car before the handover, the female soldiers expressed their gratitude to the Al-Qassam Brigades for the good treatment they received.

One of them said: “Peace be upon you, thank you to the Al-Qassam Brigades for the good treatment.”

Another added: “Thank you for the food, drink and clothes.”

A third female soldier thanked the faction fighters who were “protecting us and protecting us from the bombardment.”

While the fourth expressed her wish that this day would be “a happy day for everyone.”

At the end of the clip, the female soldiers were seen chanting loudly the date “January 25,” which was the day of their release, near the Gaza beach, where the video was filmed before they were handed over to the Red Cross.

On Saturday afternoon, Hamas released 4 Israeli female soldiers and handed them over to the Red Cross, which in turn handed them over to the Israeli side, as part of the second batch of the first phase of the exchange deal and ceasefire in Gaza.

In exchange for each Israeli female soldier, 50 Palestinian prisoners will be exchanged, including 30 serving life sentences and 20 serving long sentences, according to what a Hamas source told Anadolu Agency, Saturday.

In total, Israel currently holds more than 10,300 Palestinian prisoners in its prisons, and it is estimated that there are about 96 Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

The Gaza ceasefire agreement, which went into effect on January 19, included a deal to release Israeli prisoners in Gaza in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

In the first phase of the agreement, which consists of three stages, each lasting 42 days, the terms stipulate the gradual release of 33 Israelis held in Gaza, whether alive or dead, in exchange for a number of Palestinian detainees estimated between 1,700 and 2,000.

Indeed, the first exchange, which took place on the first day of the agreement, saw the release of three female Israeli civilian prisoners in exchange for 90 male and female Palestinian child detainees, all from the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem according to the Anadolu news agency.

With American support, Israel committed genocide in Gaza between October 7, 2023 and January 19, 2025, leaving more than 158,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing, and one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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40 Million Tons of Rubble: Gaza Ministry Faces Challenges in Removing it

Gaza’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing confirmed that Israel’s ongoing targeting of tents and shelters of displaced people in the enclave is a systematic policy of destroying the basic necessities of life. It noted the amount of rubble that has piled up in the various regions of the Strip has exceeded 40 million tons.

Ministry spokesman Najla Hammad told the Sanad News Agency, Monday, the ministry is facing unprecedented challenges in removing the rubble because of the severe shortage of heavy machinery due to the Israeli-imposed blockade and the closure of crossings.

Hammad pointed out that the recent Israeli aggression has displaced more than 80 families, leaving them homeless and exposed, noting the ministry received widespread appeals to replace the tents that have been damaged and/or completely destroyed.

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Hammad explained that crews are continuing to work on opening main roads and providing alternative spaces for service facilities and educational centers but tough going. However, she announced the completion of the removal of the rubble at the site of the Hijazi Clinic in northern Gaza, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and its handover to the Ministry of Health for reconstruction.

She indicated that the demolition and clearing of rubble is currently limited to only 4 out of the 10 sites previously identified, due to security restrictions and a lack of heavy equipment. The teams are operating with only one excavator and a very limited number of trucks.

Hammad noted the use of local alternatives and solutions, such as recycling crushed rubble to level roads and areas threatened by flooding, and melting plastic and aluminum to recycle supplies for health units in the camps is also moving.

UN reports confirm that the scale of destruction and rubble in the Gaza Strip surpasses that of major wars and conflicts in modern history. International organizations warn that preventing the entry of machinery, engineering equipment, and shelter materials exacerbates the humanitarian, environmental, and health catastrophe, hindering the provision of even the most basic services to more than two million displaced people lacking safe shelter.

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza previously warned in August of the severe deterioration in the housing sector due to the widespread presence of tons of rubble. It emphasized that the aid and tents permitted entry by the Israeli occupation amount to no more than 5% of the actual needs of the displaced, given the strict restrictions at the crossings and the repeated forced displacement.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing launched an emergency program to repair and renovate partially damaged homes in the Gaza Strip, a step aimed at persuading and facilitating the return of displaced families to their homes and original areas.

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