Israel suspends release of Palestinian prisoners 'until further notice'

Israel has suspended the release of Palestinian prisoners "until further notice", army radio reported Thursday, right in the middle of the third exchange for hostages of the Gaza ceasefire.

"The political echelon announced the suspension of the operation to release the terrorists until further notice," the radio said citing a security source, after eight hostages released in Gaza were back on Israeli soil.

Israel was expected to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the delay, his office said.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with Defense Minister Israel Katz, has instructed the delay of the release of the terrorists scheduled for today until the safe departure of our hostages in the upcoming phases is assured," Netanyahu's office said. A Hamas source told AFP that the group was in touch with mediators to "compel" Israel to release the 110 prisoners due to be freed on Thursday.

The handover of some of the hostages was delayed by a chaotic scene in which a crowd of Palestinians surrounded and jeered at the captives as they were given to the Red Cross, drawing an angry protest from Israel.

Over six weeks, Hamas is to free 33 Israeli hostages — roughly one third of those held— in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. As part of the truce, Israel has also pulled its forces back from major cities and allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in war-torn Gaza.

The sides are also to begin talks on a second phase aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel sparked the fighting.

The hostages released Thursday included a female Israeli soldier, a 29-year-old Israeli woman, an 80-year-old Israeli man, and five Thai laborers who had been working in southern Israel when they were captured.

The first hostage, soldier Agam Berger, 20, was released after Hamas paraded her in front of a crowd in the heavily destroyed urban Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Hours later, a chaotic scene unfolded at a handover of the other seven hostages in the southern city of Khan Younis, in front of the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Hundreds of militants from Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group arrived with a convoy, and thousands of people gathered to watch, some from the tilted rooftops of bombed-out buildings.

Footage showed hostage Arbel Yehoud looking stunned as masked militants hustled her through the shouting crowd, sometimes pushing people back.

About 20 friends of Yehoud gathered in southern Israel watched as the tense scene unfolded on live television. Some cried. Others had their hands over their eyes or mouths. One friend yelled at the news anchor to "shut up" when she said the situation appeared dangerous. The crowd then burst into tears after she was turned over to the Red Cross.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "shocking scenes" and called on international mediators to ensure the safety of hostages in future releases.

The other Israeli released Thursday was Gadi Moses, 80. Five Thai nationals were freed and identified by Israel as Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Pongsak Tanna, 36, Sathian Suwankam, 35, Bannawat Seathao, 27, and Surasak Lamnau, 32.

The Israeli army confirmed all eight were brought into Israel. The government released footage of Berger, who was among five young, female soldiers abducted in the Oct. 7 attack, hugging and crying with her parents.

Earlier, people cheered, clapped and whistled in a square in Tel Aviv as Berger's handover unfolded on big screens next to a large clock that's counted the days the hostages have been in captivity. Some held signs saying: "Agam we're waiting for you at home."

At the square, the White House's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, met briefly with families of hostages. "My message is that we're with the families and that we care for them," he told The Associated Press.

A number of foreign workers were taken captive along with dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers during Hamas' attack. Twenty-three Thais were among more than 100 hostages released during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. Israel says three Thais remain in captivity, two of whom are believed to be dead.

Of the people set to be released from prisons in Israel, 30 are serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former militant leader and theater director who took part in a dramatic jailbreak in 2021 before being rearrested days later, is also among those set to be released.

Israel said Yehoud was supposed to have been freed Saturday and delayed the opening of crossings to northern Gaza when she was not.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar, which brokered the ceasefire after a year of tough negotiations, resolved the dispute with an agreement that Yehoud would be released Thursday. Another three hostages, all men, are set to be freed Saturday along with dozens more Palestinian prisoners.

On Monday, Israel began allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, the most heavily destroyed part of the territory, and hundreds of thousands streamed back. Many found only mounds of rubble where their homes had been.

- Ceasefire holds for now but next phase will be harder -

In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is set to release a total of 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, older adults and sick or wounded men, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the hostages to be released in this phase are dead.

Palestinians have cheered the release of the prisoners, who they widely see as heroes who have sacrificed for the cause of ending Israel's decades-long occupation of lands they want for a future state.

Israeli forces have meanwhile pulled back from most of Gaza, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to return to what remains of their homes and humanitarian groups to surge assistance.

The deal calls for Israel and Hamas to negotiate a second phase in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages and the ceasefire would continue indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.

Israel says it is still committed to destroying Hamas, even after the militant group reasserted its rule over Gaza within hours of the truce. A key far-right partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition is already calling for the war to resume after the ceasefire's first phase.

Hamas says it won't release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.