Watan-During the prisoner exchange deal on Friday, Israel was taken aback when its captives emerged from the northern region, contrary to expectations of their presence in the besieged southern part of the Gaza Strip. This scene unfolded as another moment of disappointment and defeat for the Israeli entity at all levels since the beginning of ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Deluge.’

On Friday evening, the military media affiliated with the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, released footage capturing the moments of handing over Israeli captives to the International Red Cross as part of the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal.

Israel’s Disappointments Pile Up

In regards to the unexpected location of the hostages’ release, Arieb Al-Rantawi, the director of the Jerusalem Center for Political Studies and Jordanian political writer, remarked in a tweet on his ‘X’ account: ‘Israel anticipated its prisoners to emerge from a tunnel in the south of Gaza, given that most of them were arrested near settlements. The assumption was that the south remained outside their control.

Al-Rantawi added in his tweet that the surprise and disappointment for the occupation ‘were in their emergence from the north, where Netanyahu’s government and its army claimed, after conquering it on October 7, to have occupied, liberated, cleared, and combed the area. However, the hostages revealed the surprise.’

Northern Gaza includes the cities of Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun, which in recent weeks have been the stage for Israeli occupation forces’ incursions, resulting in numerous massacres and sweeping operations that spared no inch of the territory.

Earlier this month, the spokesperson for the Israeli occupation army, Jonathan Conricus, claimed that Hamas was smuggling Israeli prisoners among convoys of civilian refugees from the north to the south of Gaza. Conricus refused to delve into details during a press conference, stating that the occupation army considers this possibility.

Ceasefire Agreement

On the second day of the temporary ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, Palestinians eagerly anticipate the release of additional prisoners from the occupation’s jails.

The Israeli army radio announced that the Prison Authority had received a list of 42 Palestinian prisoners slated for release on Saturday as part of the exchange deal. Meanwhile, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Hamas would release 14 Israelis in the second phase of the agreement.