Israel-Hamas updates: Hamas hands over 13 Israeli captives to Red Cross

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We will soon be closing this live page. Here’s a recap of Saturday’s key events:

• The Israeli army says 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals have arrived in Israel – the second group of captives released by Hamas in Gaza as part of a four-day truce agreement.
• The transfer was delayed for hours over Hamas’s claims that Israel was violating the truce deal, including not allowing the flow of aid into northern Gaza.
• Hamas released a list of names of the second round of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released on Saturday night, which includes the names of six women and 33 male children.
• Displaced Palestinians used the short pause in fighting to return to their homes, only to find utter destruction.
• The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the number of journalists and media workers killed between October 7 and November 25 stands at 57.
• Iran said it helped broker the release of Thai nationals held in Gaza.
• Israeli forces have killed 21-year-old Ammar Abu al-Wafa and 17-year-old Ahmad Abu al-Heija in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
• The UN said 221 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and illegal settlers in the West Bank since October 7, including 56 children.
• Thousands protested in Israel to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the release of all captives held by Hamas in Gaza.
• The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said one of its patrols was hit by Israeli gunfire in the vicinity of Aytaroun in southern Lebanon.

The Palestinian Red Crescent says one of its ambulances in the occupied West Bank was “targeted” near Ofer Prison.

The attack “resulted in the rear window shattering, and our team is safe”, the PCRS said in a post on X.

Dozens of Palestinians gathered outside the vicinity of Ofer awaiting the imminent release of the second round of Palestinian prisoners.

🚨🚑 Targeting a PRCS ambulance in the Ofer area near ramallah resulted in the rear window shattering, and our team is safe.#WestBank #NotATarget #IHL pic.twitter.com/YRXRNFtjUg

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 25, 2023

The Israeli government has said six adult women and seven children and teenagers have been released by Hamas.

The hostages were released after spending 50 days in captivity, a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office said.

The Israeli military said the hostages have returned to Israeli territory.

Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says in a post on X that 13 Israelis and four foreign nationals have been handed over to the Red Cross.

Al Ansari said they were on their way to the Rafah border crossing.

Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said the Israeli military confirmed “just moments ago” that Hamas handed over the captives to the Red Cross.

“They will then be handed over to the Israeli military. They will be taken to an airbase in southern Israel for an initial check, where they will then be flown to several different hospitals throughout the Tel Aviv area for additional medical and psychological checks,” she added.

The Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) says the whereabouts of Awni Khattab, the head of the Khan Younis Medical Centre, are “now unknown”.

Israeli forces arrested Khattab on Thursday, along with three paramedics and a companion of a wounded person who were later released.

They were involved in the evacuation of wounded and sick people from al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City – which remains occupied by Israeli forces – to the enclave’s south.

“PRCS demand his immediate release along with other medical teams that are under arrest,” it said.

🚨PRCS expresses deep concern for Awni Khattab, Head of Khan Younis Medical Center in #Gaza. Arrested by Israeli forces during the wounded convoy from Al-Shifa Hospital, his whereabouts are now unknown.

📢PRCS demand his immediate release along with other medical teams that are… pic.twitter.com/IJrfadZHzi

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 25, 2023

Ammar Khalid Massarweh, whose grandson was taken seven months ago after he was injured by Israeli soldiers, says Palestinians had to pay a very high price for the release of their compatriots.

“It was paid with the blood of our people in Gaza,” said Massarweh, an ambulance driver. “This is an incomplete joy that we are feeling right now.”

“I hope that all the prisons will be empty and all our sons will be freed,” he told Al Jazeera.

Is now really the best time to restart discussions about the elusive two-state solution for Israel and Palestine?

International calls have begun to grow louder to pursue this. But what are the red lines for both sides and what would a return to the 1967 borders look like in reality?

Watch Saturday’s episode of Inside Story here:

Work on releasing a second group of Israeli and foreign captives from Gaza is going ahead, says Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari.

He also said the Israeli government is committed to complying with the truce agreement with Hamas but there were many parties and factors involved. “And every day brings with it its complexities,” he said.

Hagari also said:

• There has been remarkable progress in efforts to release the captives
• We will not report any details of the exchange until the captives are released
• We are speaking to those who were released yesterday [Friday] but will not reveal what we have learned

Fawzi Sawalmeh is eager to see his grandson Mohammed, who is among the second round of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released later on Saturday night.

The 87-year-old, standing outside Ofer prison in Beitunia in the occupied West Bank, said he was “very happy” to see Mohammed’s name included in the list released by Hamas a short while ago.

“It was very good news. We were all happy – myself, his mother, his siblings – and we wanted to come here and wait for him and welcome him,” Sawalmeh told Al Jazeera. “I’ll be so happy to see him and hug him.”

Israeli forces arrested Mohammed seven months ago when he was “at a convenience store trying to buy a few things”, Sawalmeh said.

He said his grandson was placed in administrative detention – meaning he was held without charge or trial. He was then sentenced in an administrative court.

The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has received a phone call from US President Joe Biden over the developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, says a statement by the Emiri Diwan.

The two leaders focused on the implementation of the humanitarian truce agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the joint international efforts to de-escalate tensions, protect civilian lives, and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, the statement said.

Qatar, along with Egypt, led efforts to ensure the continuation of the truce agreement between Hamas and Israel that began on Friday.

Qatar has reiterated its appreciation for the efforts of its “mediation partners” in resolving hours-long deadlock over the exchange of hostages between Hamas and Israel.

In a post on X, Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed “appreciation” for Egypt and the United States, whose efforts helped “remove obstacles” to implement the terms of the truce agreement for Saturday.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the number of journalists and media workers killed between October 7 and November 25 stood at 57.

Here’s a breakdown of that death toll:

• 50 Palestinians
• Four Israelis
• Three Lebanese

The watchdog added that at least 11 journalists were injured, three are missing and 19 arrested.

UPDATE: as of November 25, 57 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 50 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 3 Lebanese. And 19 journalists were reported arrested. https://t.co/lNtZEQfEOX

— CPJ MENA (@CPJMENA) November 25, 2023

Hamas has released the long-awaited list of the second round of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released later on Saturday night.

The list includes the names of six women and 33 male children, Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed in a post on X.

Among the Israeli captives set to be released from Gaza as part of the truce deal are eight children, five women, and seven foreign nationals, he added.

Mustafa Barghouti, the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, says since October 7, the Israeli army has become “absolutely vicious”.

“They’ve always been horrible, but they’ve become much more aggressive than anytime before,” Barghouti said, commenting on the latest string of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

“It looks like … every Israeli soldier, every Israeli illegal settler, and every Israeli policeman thinks that they have a green light to kill and shoot, and at least harass Palestinians,” Barghouti told Al Jazeera.

“We’ve been receiving reports about very serious injuries and very serious attacks by the settlers on Palestinian communities,” he said.

When asked about the delay in the release of captives and Palestinian prisoners, Barghouti said, “Israelis always play these games. Even when you conclude an agreement with them, they try to play games to violate it and, and change it in the way they want.”

Tehran says “the issue of Thai prisoners was jointly pursued by the Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar”.

“A list of names of these prisoners was given to Hamas officials to review and assist with the issue from a humanitarian perspective,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told the official IRNA news agency.

The Thai foreign ministry confirmed the release on Saturday, saying the 10 individuals – nine men and one woman – were taken to Israel via Egypt.

It added that roughly 20 Thais are among the estimated 215 people still held hostage in Gaza.

Israeli forces have killed Ammar Abu al-Wafa, 21, and 17-year-old Ahmad Abu al-Heija in Jenin in occupied West Bank, Dr Fawaz Hamad, head of al-Razi Hospital, told Al Jazeera.

Hamad said at least four other Palestinians were injured, one of them critically.

Abu al-Heija succumbed to his wounds after he was shot by a live round to the head, Hamad said.

“Al-Razi is currently the only hospital the injured can be evacuated to in all of Jenin because the four other hospitals are surrounded by the Israeli military, which is disrupting the movement of ambulances,” Hamad told Al Jazeera.