Sorrow, elation as Palestinians witness the discharge of Israeli captives

Khan Younis, Gaza – Since 8am, 32-year-old Abu Yusuf* has been standing in a crowd close to the rubble of the previous residence of Yahya Sinwar, the slain Hamas political and navy chief, in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. Along with his four-year-old son perched on his shoulders, he has been ready to catch a glimpse of the 2 Israeli captives set to be launched.

Round Abu Yusuf, hundreds of individuals have gathered amid a sea of inexperienced Hamas flags and the black banners of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. There have been additionally portraits of Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief killed by Israel, photos of Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, the chief of Yemen’s Houthis, and Fathi Shaqaqi, the late founding father of the Islamic Jihad.

“I’m proud to see these prisoners launched in change for numerous Palestinians who’ve remained in Israeli prisons for many years,” mentioned Abu Yusuf.

The releases are a part of a high-stakes ceasefire settlement geared toward ending months of warfare that started on October 7, 2023, after Hamas fighters launched a lethal assault on Israel. Beneath the deal that took impact on January 19, Hamas is about to launch 33 Israeli captives over a six-week interval. In return, as much as 1,650 Palestinian prisoners could possibly be free of Israeli jails.

Thursday’s change, the third for the reason that ceasefire started, began with Hamas releasing 20-year-old soldier Agam Berger within the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, adopted by the discharge of civilians Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses along with 5 Thai nationals in Khan Younis in a handover overseen by Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, al-Quds Brigades.

Later within the day, Israeli authorities launched 110 Palestinian prisoners, together with 32 serving life sentences and 30 minors.

Abu Yusuf mentioned that he had walked greater than 5 kilometres (three miles) from his village to reach early, and waited for greater than 4 hours to witness the discharge of the captives.

He says their launch in change for Palestinian prisoners makes him really feel that what he misplaced within the warfare was not in useless. “These scenes,” he mentioned, “assist ease the ache of shedding my two-story residence and kinfolk to Israeli air strikes.”

As armoured pick-up vehicles rolled by carrying fighters clad in fight gear and black balaclavas, Abu Yusuf gestured in direction of them with satisfaction.

“The resistance fighters are nonetheless right here, alive, and able to hanging again,” he mentioned. “This entire change is a reminder that the occupation has failed to interrupt us.”

‘Individuals’s steadfastness’

Alongside Khan Younis’s crowded Fifth Avenue the place the handover came about and the place Sinwar’s residence stood, individuals waved banners as they got here to witness what many within the crowd noticed as “a symbolic victory”.

Two ladies waved handwritten indicators thanking Iran, Hezbollah, and the Houthis for his or her assist. One in all them, Yasmin*, 28, clutched a banner studying, “To all who stood with us, our victory is yours.”

“We’re right here to thank each nation that backed our resistance, particularly Iran, [Lebanon’s] Hezbollah, and Yemen,” she mentioned. “However our individuals’s steadfastness introduced us right here.”

Dozens of protesters clambered onto the stays of flattened houses to witness the handover.

The 2-hour delay did little to dampen the group’s fervour as individuals filmed on smartphones and chanted celebratory slogans.

The 2 Israeli captives, flanked by masked al-Quds Brigades fighters, had been closely guarded as they had been moved via the group and in direction of representatives from the Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross (ICRC).

Bystanders surged ahead to take pictures and younger males near the captives jeered as they had been led away.

Mohammed*, 22, his voice edged with sarcasm, referred to as out, “Arbel, you’ve triggered us a lot hassle,” referring to the controversy over Arbel Yehud’s launch, which led to a tense standoff between negotiators and frustration amongst Palestinians.

Israel mentioned Yehud ought to have been launched final Saturday, and after she was not, accused Hamas of violating the settlement after which barred Palestinians from returning to their houses within the north. An settlement was later reached, paving the way in which for hundreds of displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

“Return to your loved ones. We’re higher off with out you!” he shouted.

‘The value we paid’

Among the many onlookers, individuals described feeling elation and sorrow following a warfare that has killed at the least 47,035 Palestinians and wounded 111,091.

Cries of “Allah Akbar!”, a phrase usually heard throughout Eid celebrations, rang via the streets, the sounds of jubilation at odds with the destruction throughout. Khan Younis’s houses lie in ruins, the farmland has been stripped naked by bulldozers and the remaining olive bushes are charred husks.

Abdul Qadir*, a 63-year-old with a white beard and wire-framed glasses, stood off to the aspect, watching in silence.

“We shouldn’t be searching for strife with any Arab nation or the worldwide neighborhood,” he advised Al Jazeera.

Gesturing on the ruins round him, he mentioned, “The credit score goes to the Palestinians,” who’ve withstood greater than 15 months of relentless shelling, surviving “a genocide”.

“Our resilience pressured the world to see us. We endured the bombs, the sieges, the loss. However what stays?” he requested. “Have a look at this destruction: our houses, our farms. That is the worth we paid.”

This text was revealed in collaboration with Egab.

*All interviewees requested that their final names be withheld resulting from safety issues.