Egyptian state-run TV says Israel has released 70 Palestinian prisoners into Egypt in Gaza ceasefire deal

Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian state-run TV says Israel has released 70 Palestinian prisoners into Egypt in Gaza ceasefire deal.

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  • Hamas frees 4 female Israeli soldiers in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire holds

    Four female Israeli soldiers who were taken in the attack that sparked the war in Gaza returned to Israel on Saturday after Hamas militants paraded them before a crowd of thousands in Gaza City and handed them over to the Red Cross. Israel later released 200 Palestinian prisoners in the second exchange of a fragile ceasefire. The four Israelis smiled, waved and gave the thumbs-up from a stage in Palestine Square, with armed, masked militants on either side as Hamas sought to show it remained in control in Gaza after 15 months of war.

  • Qatar says a deal is reached to release an Israeli hostage and allow Palestinians into northern Gaza

    DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

  • A woman walks past a mural in Dublin on Sept. 20, 2024, which features a press flak jacket that lists an estimated number of journalists and other media members killed at that point during the Israel-Hamas conflict. As of Jan. 24, there have been 167 journalists confirmed killed in the conflict, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. It is investigating many other reports that could raise its death toll.

    Their cameras dusty, their blue press vests worn from extreme use and emotions still running high, Palestinian journalists in Gaza are still at work after rejoicing at having survived the war amid the ceasefire announced a week ago. As foreign media members were not allowed into the Gaza Strip, the responsibility for reporting fell on the shoulders of local journalists who shot footage of their neighbours and sometimes their own families' final moments — all to ensure international media outlets could bring the world inside the devastation the enclave's 2.2 million civilians have endured. Roughly 90 per cent of the population has been displaced since Israel launched its military campaign 15 months ago, many moving than once. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to its health ministry, a retaliatory offensive to the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas was responsible for killing 1,200 people and led to the capture of more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Three Palestinian journalists spoke with CBC freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife about what it was like to report on the war while they were living with the effects of it in their homes.Talat Abu MusabahJournalist Talat Abu Musabah says the days of the war were horrific as he dodged bombs and bullets to cover what was happening in the Gaza Strip. (Mohamed El Saife/CBC News)"I cannot believe that I managed to survive this genocidal war," said Talat Abu Musabah, who works with Press TV."From the very beginning of this war, Israeli forces have been targeting Palestinian journalists."In a press release earlier this month, the International Federation of Journalists announced that "at least 152 journalists" had been killed in Gaza during the war. The release went on to condemn the killings, calling for an "immediate investigation" into their deaths. The Committee to Protect Journalists puts the death toll at 167 journalists, noting it's investigating the reports of many other fatalities.On the day CBC spoke to Abu Musabah, he said he was "amazed" that he was still alive. The 37-year-old picked up work with the Iranian news agency Press TV, covering airstrikes, ground attacks and death in the Gaza Strip. He said he wanted to report on the conflict to "raise the voices of Palestinian people." A journalist long before Oct. 7, 2023, he said that this line of work has always been his calling. WATCH: This Palestinian journalist says he can't believe he survived the war"To me journalism is one of the most crucial aspects of our daily lives as Palestinian people," he said. "We have this relentless battle with the Israeli occupation forces in terms of the struggle." As he looks back on the days of the war, he describes them as "extremely horrific."As families return to Rafah, the grim task of searching through the rubble in the hopes of finding their loved ones' remains for burial awaits many. Though the Gaza Health Ministry estimates roughly 47,000 civilians died in the war, a study published in the Lancet on Jan. 9 suggests the actual tally is much higher.But "it was a momentous day when the ceasefire agreement was announced," Abu Musabah said. "We were very elated having this ceasefire come into effect." Sami Abu SalemAfter covering the war for Wafa News Agency for 15 months, Abu Salem says he will now turn to looking for a proper home for his family while continuing to cover events in the enclave. (Mohamed El Saife/CBC News)A viral video made rounds on social media of a group of Palestinian journalists gathered near the European Hospital in Khan Younis to celebrate the moment the ceasefire took effect on Sunday. They sang and cheered, sharing in the moment of survival and remembering colleagues who could not be there to celebrate this with them. Sami Abu Salem, a writer with Wafa Agency, described the conflicted feelings he and his colleagues now carry with them in a post-war Gaza. "I'm lucky and satisfied because we are alive," he said in an interview. "But at the same time, I am so upset because we lost over 200 of our colleagues." The 53-year-old writer was cautiously optimistic as he explained that the ceasefire, still in its early days, is "fragile" — and can be broken at any moment. The father also described his own struggle in the last 15 months — even as he covered the devastation of the war and its implications on people around him, he also went home to a tent and tried to find food, water and supplies for his own family. But he says his inability to balance everything often left him feeling defeated during the conflict.WATCH: This journalist describes the struggles he faced covering the war in Gaza "During the war, as a journalist, I felt that I could not do my job well. Either to take care of my kids, to look for a place to stay or to look for food and water for my kids," he said. "Or to cover the news and take pictures." Still, he had hopes of becoming a famous journalist and felt it was his patriotic duty to ensure the stories of the war were told to the world. Visibly tired, he laughs as he hears the dreams come out of his mouth. "I have become a journalist," he said. "But I'm not famous." Now, he will focus on finding a home for his family, something he wasn't able to secure during the war between displacements and bombing campaigns across the strip. "I do not know where to go, I don't know where to live." Diaa Al-UstazDiaa Al-Ustaz says it's his patriotic duty to cover the war and tell stories of Palestinians to the world. (Mohamed El Saife/CBC News)Working from the media tent, Diaa Al-Ustaz typed away on his laptop, trying to finish his latest story for ABC. His press vest, blue and worn out, hung on a coat rack nearby. Empty cups of coffee littered his desk, fuel for a day's work — in a post-war Gaza, there is still many stories to tell. Before the war, Al-Ustaz, 29, worked as a field co-ordinator for Save the Children while completing his master's degree in civil societies. As soon as the war broke out, his studies came to a halt, and he was thrust into the role of a journalist, a job he hoped for his entire life he says. His work with Save The Children ended and he could no longer continue his studies while trying to survive the war so instead he decided to fulfil a lifelong dream. "Since we are located in a conflict zone, there is a message we have to deliver for all the people worldwide," he said. "The journalism field is the eyes of the truth." WATCH: He says journalism is his patriotic dutyBut he said it's the humanity that comes with being a good journalist that really piqued his interest in the profession as a young boy. "Journalists have to be human, have to feel with all people, have the ability to do coverage to send the message worldwide to all the people in all of the languages," he said. 

  • Slovak PM Fico rejects calls to quit amid growing protests

    Around 60,000 protested in the capital Bratislava on Friday, organisers estimated, and media said in total around 100,000 had turned out for rallies in cities across the country, the biggest demonstrations since Fico returned to power in 2023. The protests come after Fico privately travelled to Moscow in December to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, a rare encounter for a European Union leader since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

  • 22 reported killed in Lebanon before agreement to extend deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw

    MAYS AL-JABAL, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22 and injuring 124, Lebanese health officials reported.

  • DR Congo rebels close in on key city as 13 peacekeepers killed

    The UN chief condemned the escalation, calling on Rwanda to halt support for rebels and withdraw.

  • Turkey says joint fight needed against Kurdish militants, Islamic State in the region

    Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday after talks in Baghdad that a joint battle using "all our resources" must be carried out to eliminate both Islamic State and Kurdish militants in the region. Fidan's visit took place amid repeated calls from Turkey for the Kurdish YPG militia in northeast Syria to disband following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month, with Ankara warning it could mount a new cross-border operation against the group unless its concerns are addressed. The YPG spearheads the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

  • Who are the Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for Israeli hostages?

    RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The release of four female Israeli soldiers from Hamas captivity on Saturday came at a heavy cost for Israel.

  • 2 killed in Lebanon amid protests as Israeli forces remain after withdrawal deadline

    MAYS AL-JABAL, Lebanon (AP) — At least two people were killed and around 30 others injured in southern Lebanon Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on protesters who had breached roadblocks the Israeli army set up a day before, Lebanon’s health ministry reported.

  • Israel orders thousands of Lebanese not to return to border area

    BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The Israeli army ordered thousands of displaced Lebanese not to return to villages near the border until further notice, a day after it said its forces would remain in south Lebanon beyond a Sunday deadline to withdraw. The deadline is part of a ceasefire that ended last year's war between Hezbollah and Israel. Brokered by Washington and Paris, the deal stipulated that Israeli forces should withdraw from south Lebanon as the Iran-backed group's weapons and fighters are removed from the area and the Lebanese army deploys, within in a 60-day period which ends on Sunday.

  • Trump's comment to 'clean out' Gaza has thrilled Israel's far right and infuriated Palestinians

    With Israel facing multiple and potentially escalating crises on its borders, Donald Trump ignited a new one Saturday with comments about permanently relocating the Palestinian population of Gaza to other countries. Calling Gaza a "demolition site," the U.S. president said he raised the issue with the King of Jordan by suggesting Arab countries should take in and build housing for Palestinians so that they could "maybe live in peace for a change.""We just clean out that whole thing," Trump repor

  • Four female soldiers reunite with families in Israel - as freed Palestinian prisoners carried by huge crowds in West Bank

    Four Israeli soldiers held by Hamas have been released and 200 Palestinian prisoners have been freed as part of a ceasefire deal that has brought an end to 15 months of brutal fighting in Gaza. Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and 19-year-old Liri Albag, were all serving with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) when they were captured on October 7 2023.

  • Middle East latest: Deal reached to release Israeli hostage and allow Palestinians into north Gaza

    Mediator Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

  • Yemen's Houthi rebels unilaterally release 153 war detainees, Red Cross says

    Yemen’s Houthi rebels unilaterally freed 153 war detainees Saturday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, one of several overtures in recent days to ease tensions after the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Previous prisoner releases have been viewed as a means to jumpstart talks over permanently ending Yemen's decadelong war, which began when the Houthis seized the country's capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

  • Who are the Israelis released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire in Gaza?

    Hamas released four young female Israeli soldiers on Saturday after more than 15 months in captivity. The release of the four comes days into a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and is part of a long and uncertain process aimed at eventually ending the war. Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag were captured when Hamas-led militants overran the Nahal Oz military base during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war, killing over 60 soldiers there.

  • Huge crowds await return to north Gaza after delays

    A deal to release Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud has been reached that would allow people to go back to north Gaza, a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official said.

  • Foreign media couldn't get into Gaza, so the journalists living there recorded it for the world

    Their cameras dusty, their blue press vests worn from extreme use and emotions still running high, Palestinian journalists in Gaza are still at work after rejoicing at having survived the war amid the ceasefire announced a week ago. As foreign media members were not allowed into the Gaza Strip, the responsibility for reporting fell on the shoulders of local journalists who shot footage of their neighbours and sometimes their own families' final moments — all to ensure international media outlets

  • 22 killed as residents of southern Lebanon defy Israeli orders not to return home

    Three people were killed and 44 others injured by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese government said, as residents of villages near the border defied orders by Israel’s military not to return to their homes.

  • Hamas to release Israeli hostage Yehud, two others before Friday, Israel to allow Gazans to return home north

    Palestinian militant group Hamas will hand over female Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud and two other hostages before Friday, mediator Qatar said on Sunday, and Israel said it would allow residents of the northern Gaza Strip to go back home early on Monday. In a statement, Qatar's foreign ministry also said Israel will in return allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza starting Monday morning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that civilian Arbel Yehud, soldier Agam Berger and another hostage will be released by Hamas.

  • Middle East latest: Israel says it won't complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by Sunday

    Israel’s military says it won’t complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday as outlined in its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah militants.