Thursday, February 27, 2025
0841 GMT — Israel released 596 Palestinians held in jails as part of the seventh exchange under the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner deal with Hamas.
It came after the Palestinian resistance group handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross.
According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, 37 Palestinians were freed in Ramallah, central occupied West Bank and five in East Jerusalem.
One prisoner received by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, in a coma, was transferred to a hospital in the West Bank.
As many as 456 Palestinians were released and transferred to Gaza, according to Saleh Al-Hams, the nursing director at the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis.
"The prisoners are in a state of severe emaciation, with some unable to walk due to the intense beatings and torture they have endured," Hams said., adding that "most of the prisoners suffer from skin diseases, and one case was admitted to the hospital overnight due to lung fibrosis."
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0652 GMT — Arab Parliament condemns calls for Palestinian displacement, rejects violations of Palestinian sovereignty
The Arab Parliament said that any plan advocating control over Gaza, violating Palestinian sovereignty, or displacing the Palestinian people from Gaza to other countries is "entirely condemned and rejected."
Following an emergency session held at the headquarters in Cairo, the legislative body of the Arab League in its final statement stressed displacement attempts constitute "a blatant violation of international laws, international resolutions, and an infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."
The Arab Parliament also "firmly rejected any attempts aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause or imposing unjust solutions," asserting that any efforts "to forcibly displace the Palestinian people in any form amount to a crime against humanity under international law and the Geneva Conventions."
0630 GMT — Lebanese army uncovers Israeli spy devices in southern Lebanon
The Lebanese army said its specialised units discovered Israeli spy devices in southern Lebanon.
The army said in a statement that its specialised teams, during engineering surveying operations in areas in southern Lebanon, identified two spy devices planted by the Israeli army.
The devices, hidden inside trees and rocks, were equipped with cameras and sensors.
The army also published photos of the surveillance equipment, and said the relevant units worked on dismantling them.
0345 GMT — Palestinian government in Gaza discusses prisoner exchange
The Media Office of the Government in Gaza announced that it held discussions with a delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about Israel’s violations in Gaza and the "sensitive humanitarian and legal issues" in the ongoing prisoner exchange process.
During the meeting in Gaza City, Ismail al-Thawabta, the director of the Media Office, raised questions with the Red Cross delegation about the treatment of both Israeli and Palestinian prisoners in the exchange process.
Al-Thawabta highlighted the humanitarian and ethical approach that the Palestinian group Hamas follows when handing over the bodies of Israeli captives to the Red Cross, questioning why the same standard was not applied to Palestinian prisoners.
He criticised Israel for continuing to deliver the bodies of Palestinian detainees in "inhumane and uncivilised ways."
0254 — Buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons arrive in Gaza
Buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons arrived in Gaza, live footage showed.
Israel had refused to release prisoners last Saturday.
2250 GMT — Israel has released Palestinians from Ofer Prison.
A bus carrying dozens of Palestinian prisoners arrived in the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, heading toward the Cultural Palace in Ramallah, where their families are waiting, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.
The correspondent added that the bus was accompanied by teams from the International Red Cross.
Hamas' Prisoners Information Office said that among those released, 43 prisoners are expected to be freed to the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, out of a total of 620 prisoners set to be released.
2243 GMT — Hamas hands over four hostage bodies to Red Cross
An Israeli security official has told the AFP news agency that Hamas had handed over four bodies to the Red Cross, while a senior leader from the Palestinian resistance said the bodies belonged to Israeli hostages.
"Four bodies transferred to the Red Cross from Hamas," the official said. "The four bodies were handed over a short while ago, and we are waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners," the Hamas official said, referring to the remains of the hostages.
2133 GMT — Israel has shown 'unprecedented disregard for human rights' in Gaza: UN human rights chief
The UN Human Rights Chief has accused Israel of showing an unprecedented disregard for human rights in its genocide in Palestine's Gaza.
"Nothing justifies the appalling manner in which Israel has conducted its military operations in Gaza, which consistently breached international law", said Volker Turk, while presenting a new report on the human rights situation in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
For our live updates from Wednesday, February 26, 2025, click here.
