Khan Younis, Gaza – Since 8 am, Abu Yusuf *, 32, has been held in a crowd near the rubble of the former house of Yahya Sinwar, the political and military leader of Hamas killed, in the south of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza. With his four -year -old son perched on his shoulders, he was waiting to have an overview of the two Israeli captives that should be released.
Around Abu Yusuf, thousands of people gathered in the middle of a sea of green flags in Hamas and black banners of the Palestinian group of Islamic jihad. There were also portraits of Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah in Lebanon killed by Israel, images of Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, the head of the Houthis of Yemen, and Fathi Shaqaqi, founding fire of Islamic Jihad.
“I am proud to see these prisoners released in exchange for countless Palestinians who have stayed in Israeli prisons for decades,” said Abu Yusuf.
Outings are part of a high ceasefire agreement intended to finish months of war that started on October 7, 2023, after Hamas fighters launched a deadly attack on Israel. Under the agreement which entered into force on January 19, Hamas is expected to release 33 Israeli captives over a period of six weeks. In return, up to 1,650 Palestinian prisoners could be released from Israeli prisons.
Thursday exchange, the third Since the start of the ceasefire, began with Hamas releasing the 20-year-old soldier, Agam Berger, in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, followed by the release of civilians Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moïse More than five Thai nationals in Khan Younis in a handover supervised by the armed wing of Islamic jihad, the al-quds brigades.
Later in the day, the Israeli authorities released 110 Palestinian prisoners, including 32 life sentences and 30 minors.
Abu Yusuf said he had traveled more than five kilometers (three kilometers) from his village to arrive early and waited for more than four hours to attend the liberation of captives.
He says that their release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners makes him feel that what he lost during the war was not in vain. “These scenes,” he said, “help relieve the pain of losing my two-story house and my relatives to Israeli air strikes.”
While the armored vans were driving by transporting fighters dressed in combat equipment and black hoods, Abu Yusuf gave them towards them with pride.
“The resistance fighters are still there, alive and capable of going up,” he said. “This exchange is a reminder that the occupation has failed to break us.”
“ The constancy of people ”
Along the fifth crowded street of Khan Younis where the house was and where the house of Sinwar was, people agitated banners when they witnessed what many in the crowd considered “a symbolic victory” .
Two women made a sign of handwritten signaling thanking Iran, Hezbollah and Houthis for their support. One of them, Yasmin *, 28, tightened a banner by reading: “To all those who stood with us, our victory is yours.”
“We are here to thank each nation that supported our resistance, in particular Iran, [Lebanon’s] Hezbollah and Yemen, “she said. “But the constancy of our people brought us here.”
Dozens of demonstrators have climbed on the remains of flattened houses to attend the transmission.
The two-hour period did not do much to alleviate the fervor of the crowd while people were turning on smartphones and chanted festive slogans.
The two Israeli captives, flanked by masked fighters from Al-Quds, were strongly kept when they were moved through the crowd and to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Passers -by took the descent forward to take photos and young men near the captives laughed while they were taken.
Mohammed *, 22, his voice is lying with sarcasm, called: “Arbel, you caused so many problems to us”, referring to the controversy on the release of Arbel Yehud, which led to a confrontation held between Negotiators and frustration among the Palestinians.
Israel said Yehud should have been released last Saturday, and after being, accused Hamas of having violated the agreement, then prevented the Palestinians from returning home in the North. An agreement was then concluded, paving the way for thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.
“Go back to your family. We are better without you! he cried.
‘The price we paid’
Among the spectators, people have described to feel the exaltation and sorrow following a war which killed at least 47,035 Palestinians and injured 111,091.
Shouts “Allah Akbar!”, A sentence often heard during Eid celebrations, sounded in the streets, the sounds of jubilation in contradiction with destruction all around. The houses of Khan Younis are in ruins, the agricultural lands have been stripped by bulldozers and the remaining olive trees are charred envelopes.
Abdul Qadir *, a 63 -year -old man with a white beard and metallic mounts, stood on the side, looking in silence.
“We should not seek conflicts with an Arab nation or the international community,” he told Al Jazeera.
Making a gesture on the ruins around him, he said: “The credit goes to the Palestinians”, who resisted more than 15 months of implacable bombardments, surviving “a genocide”.
“Our resilience has forced the world to see us. We endured the bombs, the seats, the loss. But what’s left? He asked. “Look at this destruction: our houses, our farms. This is the price we paid.
This article was published in collaboration with Egab.
* All those questioned asked that their surnames be retained due to security problems.
