Live: Israeli forces detonate 20 homes in Jenin

The Thai foreign minister has confirmed the release of captives from Gaza after speaking to the Thai embassy in Israel. 

The ministry sent a message of "deep appreciation" to "Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, the US and other friendly countries, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and all the parties involved".

Pannabha Chandraramya, the Thai ambassador to Israel, met Isaac Herzog, Israel's president, on Thursday morning. 

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Information Office has said the release of 110 prisoners which was scheduled for Wednesday but suspended by the Israeli government will take place at 15:00 local time, following talks with mediators.

This comes after Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed the Israeli prime minister had ordered a halt to the planned release of 110 Palestinian prisoners.

The prime minister's spokesperson said the delay was because an Israeli captive was mobbed in Khan Younis. 

The Palestinian prisoners were set to be released in exchange for the three Israeli captives freed earlier on Thursday, but the Israeli government said they would not be released until Israel receives assurances that remaining Israeli captives will be freed safely in future exchanges.

Israel instructed buses carrying Palestinian prisoners slated for release under the Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas to return to prisons, an official involved in the operation told Reuters on Thursday.

Israel's Channel 12 reported that the decision to halt the release of Palestinian prisoners was made 'in protest' of the scenes outside Yahya Sinwar's home, where Israeli and Thai captives were exchanged for the prisoners.

A total of 110 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 children, are set to be released, in exchange for three Israeli and five Thai captives.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society has published details of several Palestinian prisoners set to be released on Thursday as part of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

Mohammed Falna, the oldest prisoner from the Ramallah Governorate, is to be released on Thursday after serving 33 years in prison. Arrested on 29 November 1992, and sentenced to life imprisonment, the 60-year-old will be deported outside Palestinian territory. During his time in prison, Falna lost two family members, and most of his relatives were denied visitation rights due to security restrictions. Those allowed to visit could only do so once a year. He also spent a year in solitary confinement.

Sameh al-Shoubaki, a 45-year-old prisoner from Qalqilya, will also be released on Thursday after serving 22 years. Al-Shoubaki had been pursued by Israeli forces for months and survived several assassination attempts before being arrested in 2003. Following his arrest, he was subjected to a 94-day military investigation and another 33-day investigation in 2013. Israeli forces demolished his family home a year after his arrest, and his brothers were also arrested. He was kept in solitary confinement during his imprisonment.

Muhammad Abu Warda, a 50-year-old from Fawwar Camp in Hebron, will be released after 23 years in prison. Abu Warda is one of the most prominent prisoners in Israeli jails. He was handed 48 life sentences by Israeli authorities.

Itamar Ben Gvir, the former Israeli national security minister who resigned over the ceasefire deal, said Israel did not achieve "a complete victory" in Gaza in response to the scenes of the captives' handover in Khan Younis.

“We are happy and excited about the return of our beloved Agam, Arbel and Gadi, but the horrific images from Gaza make it clear: this is not a complete victory – this is a complete failure, in a reckless deal like no other,” he said in a statement on Telegram.

“The government could have stopped the bloodthirsty crowd that is now trying to lynch our hostages from humanitarian aid, fuel, electricity and water, and crushed them militarily until they themselves beg to return our hostages, but it decided to choose the path of surrender to human monsters. It is not too late to come to its senses!”

The International Committee of the Red Cross said seven captives held in Gaza have been released to its personnel, Al Jazeera reported.

“The Israeli captive Gadi [Moshe] Mozes was escorted to the same car with Arbil Yehud," said Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Hisham Zaqout, reporting from the location.

"Two other cars have the Thai captives, and they will all head to Karam Abu Salem crossing to be handed to the Israeli forces there.”

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in Khan Younis in southern Gaza near the family home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday in anticipation of two Israeli captives being released.

Onlookers clambered over smashed concrete on the upper floors of buildings, devastated in Israel's war on Gaza, hoping to catch a glimpse of Gadi Mozes, an 80-year-old Israeli-German, and Arbel Yehud, a 29-year-old Israeli woman.

"We came to witness these historic moments of handing over the prisoners. We feel proud of the resistance - they preserved the lives of the prisoners throughout the days of the occupation's war of extermination," Mohammed al-Astal, 32, told AFP from Khan Younis.

"The resistance's choice of the home of the martyred leader Yahya Sinwar for the handover encouraged thousands of citizens to participate and celebrate the ceremony. Everyone is eager for moments of joy," he added.

Israeli captive Arbel Yehud has been handed over to the Red Cross, Israel's Channel 12 said, as footage showed her surrounded by a surging crowd and armed fighters in southern Gaza on Thursday.

According to Al Jazeera, another captive is expected to be handed over shortly.

A group of captives, escorted by fighters from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are now at the release site in Khan Younis, Al Jazeera reported. 

Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Hisham Zaqout said the five Thai workers are expected to be freed alongside Israeli captives Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Mozes.

“They are all in this vehicle we were seeing live, coming to the rubble of the house of the martyr Yahya Sinwar where there will be a handover ceremony,” he said.

A convoy of Red Cross vehicles has arrived at the site where captives Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Mozes are expected to be released in Gaza's Khan Younis, in front of the house of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who was killed in October 2024.

Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Hisham Zaqout said there is no podium set up this time, unlike previous captive release ceremonies.

“It seems due to the huge crowds of Palestinians coming to salute the Palestinian resistance and to watch the handover ceremony, the first in the south of Gaza Strip, the podium could not be set,” he said.

A convoy of Red Cross vehicles has arrived at the site where captives Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Mozes are expected to be released in Gaza's Khan Younis, in front of the house of Yahya Sinwar.

reporting from the location of the ongoing captives’ release ceremony in Khan Younis says that

Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Hisham Zaqout said there is no podium set up this time similar to previous captive release ceremonies.

“It seems due to the huge crowds of Palestinians coming to salute the Palestinian resistance and to watch the handover ceremony, the first in the south of Gaza Strip, the podium could not be set,” he said.

The Shin Bet, Israel's internal intelligence agency, has instructed families of Palestinian prisoners set for release not to celebrate, Al Jazeera reported, citing Israel's Channel 12.

Israeli forces arrested 12 Palestinians who celebrated the release of prisoners in occupied East Jerusalem earlier this month, claiming they violated a ban on "expressions of joy" and "identification with Hamas".

The Red Cross has received the location in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, where Palestinian Islamic Jihad will hand over two Israeli captives and is now heading to the site, The Times of Israel reported.

The captives are 80-year-old farmer Gadi Mozes from Nir Oz, the first man released in the third exchange, and 29-year-old civilian Arbel Yehoud, the last living female captive in Gaza.

Released Israeli soldier Agam Berger has crossed the border into Israel, the military confirmed.

The 20-year-old is being taken to a site near the border for a medical check-up before reuniting with family and friends, who have gathered at her home.

“This is the happiest moment of my life,” a relative told Channel 12. “Now we can breathe again.”

Berger, a surveillance officer, had started working at Israel’s Nahal Oz base just two days before the 7 October 2023 attack.