Israel’s ban on “public displays of joy” when Palestinian prisoners are released has sparked concerns about the treatment of detainees and their families.
As part of a ceasefire deal that took effect on Sunday, Israel’s prison service said “measures were being taken” to prevent Palestinian celebrations in Israel.
The truce, which started at 11.15am local time, is the first step toward ending the Israel-Hamas war and returning nearly 100 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Israel announced the names of the first three hostages expected to return home on Sunday in exchange for the planned release of 90 Palestinian prisoners. Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and British-Israeli Emily Damari were the released as part of the ceasefire deal.
Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) speak with fighters of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.(Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)Celebrations erupted across Gaza and some Palestinians began returning to their homes as the ceasefire deal began.
But in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it will work to prevent celebrations and parades over freed Palestinian prisoners, The Times of Israel reported.
Agents from the Israeli Security Agency have made warning calls to the families of those who are expected to be freed.
Israel’s prison service previously said that “special units” from the prison service would deal with the transport of Palestinian prisoners from Shikma prison to “prevent public displays of joy in Ashkelon and other areas of Israel”.
During the previous hostage exchange during the war, in November 2023, the Red Cross buses had transported them.
Jenna Abuhasna, advocacy officer at Palestinian human rights group Addameer, told The i Paper forces have been visiting homes of the detainees that will be released and “making sure that their family members do not celebrate their release”.
During the November 2023 exchange, the detainees that were released said Israeli forces had threatened to arrest them again if they celebrated.
Ms Abuhasna said many of those released in November 2023, including women and children, were detained again later. Three of the children released in that deal were “targeted” by Israeli forces and killed, she added.
Ms Abuhasna raised concerns that celebrations could prompt Israeli forces to commit human rights violations.
There are also fears Israeli forces “will continue to violate basic human rights and continue to commit torture against the detainees up until the very last moment that the detainees are released”, she said.
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Read More“When it comes to the prisoners that will be remaining in the prisons once the full agreement is over, these prisoners will still be subjected to very violent detention and very violent, brutal attacks – not just physical but psychological as well,” she said.
Israeli hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin said the ceasefire was fragile and could still break down.
The ceasefire was due to begin at 8.30am local time (6.30 GMT) but was delayed until 11.15am after Israel said Hamas had not handed over the names of the first 33 hostages due to be released.
Several people were killed as the ceasefire was delayed following a drone attack on Gaza showing how precarious the situation is.
A group of Israeli hostages is expected to be released every seven days but the lengthy process could pose problems, Mr Baskin said.
“Hamas is notoriously late in giving the list of names of hostages and then releasing them not at the same time,” he said. “Israel will release Palestinian prisoners at a coordinated time, but in accordance with the released hostages.
“But all of these things are very sensitive, and they create a lot of tension, a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety. Of the 33 hostages that are going to be released, there’s no knowledge of how many of them are alive.”
He said Hamas currently does not have all the information about the Israeli hostages and is in the process of collecting it, which is why it only releases their names on the same day or the night before.
Hamas has also refused to use digital communication instead dealing with intermediaries which may also cause further delays.
“There may be a very likely chance that there are hostages who will never be found because they’re buried underneath buildings that Israel bombed, along with thousands of missing Gazans who are designated as missing because they are underneath the rubble of buildings,” he said. “The lack of knowledge of where all the hostages are could also foil the agreement.”
The first 33 hostages include children and wounded civilians and will be released over the course of 42 days, as part of the first stage of the ceasefire deal.
Who are the 33 hostages being released as part of phase one?
The list includes 12 women and children:
Romi Gonen, 23 Emily Damari, 27 Arbel Yehud, 29 Doron Steinbrecher, 31 Ariel Bibas, 5 Kfir Bibas, 2 Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33 Liri Albag, 19 Karina Ariev, 20 Agam Berger, 21 Danielle Gilboa, 20 Naama Levy, 20Ms Damari, a British-Israeli citizen who grew up in London, is among the first three hostages being released.
A video of the Bibas family – a mother and her two small children – being kidnapped went viral. Hamas has previously claimed they were dead but this has not been verified.
The list also includes 10 older men:
Ohad Ben-Ami, 58 Gadi Moshe Moses, 80 Keith Siegel, 65 Ofer Calderon, 54 Eli Sharabi, 52 Itzik Elgarat, 70 Shlomo Mansour, 86 Ohad Yahalomi, 50 Oded Lifshitz, 84 Tsahi Idan, 50Mr Liftshitz has a British-Israeli daughter named Sharone.
Another 11 men under 50 are on the list:
Hisham al-Sayed, 36 Yarden Bibas, 35 Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36 Yair Horn, 46 Omer Wenkert, 23 Sasha Trufanov, 28 Eliya Cohen, 27 Or Levy, 34 Avera Mengistu, 38 Tal Shoham, 39 Omer Shem-Tov, 22Out of 61 remaining hostages, those who are alive will be released during the second stage of the deal. Any remaining bodies will be handed over during the third stage.
In return, Israel will release almost 2,000 Palestinians from its jails. Thirty Palestinian prisoners will be released for each female hostage.
Israel agreed to pull out of all populated areas of Gaza and allow Palestinians to return to all neighbourhoods.
Detailed negotiations for the second and third stages will begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire, according to current US President Joe Biden. The second stage will last another 42 days, Mr Baskin said.
In the second stage, Israeli troops would fully withdraw from Gaza and the war would be permanently ended, according to Biden. In the third stage, Gaza would be reconstructed, which could take years.
Mr Baskin said this is a “very long period of time” to end a war.
“There’s so many opportunities here for misunderstandings and misconceptions,” he said. “There’s no trust between the two sides, and there’s a limit to what the mediators can do.”
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Read MoreThe Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and members of his government have insisted there is no Israeli commitment to end the war, which will “create tension” with Hamas, who will feel that Israeli is not committed to what was agreed.
He said the only thing that has changed in the past 15 months is Donald Trump becoming US president and putting pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, who is a close ally.
“If Trump is really committed to seeing this deal done and ending the war, just saying that to Netanyahu puts the pressure on Netanyahu,” he said.
“This deal was on the table since May when Biden presented it, but there was no willingness in Israel to get it done until Donald Trump said to Netanyahu, ‘Get it done. I don’t want it on my desk when I enter the White House.’”
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