Israeli-German hostage to be released, mediators in Qatar announce

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An Israeli woman, who also has German citizenship, being held in Gaza is set to be released in exchange for 30 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, according to Qatari officials mediating between Hamas and Israel.

The woman is one of three hostages held in Gaza to be released by Friday, a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Doha announced on X.

The German-Israeli woman is said to currently be in the hands of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) paramilitary group.

The deputy PIJ secretary-general, Mohammed Hindi, had earlier told dpa that the woman was alive and the conditions of her release were being negotiated with Israel with the help of mediators.

Palestinian militants abducted the woman to Gaza during the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

The agreement on the ceasefire and the exchange of hostages for imprisoned Palestinians stipulates that civilians should be released first. However, the Islamist militant group Hamas released four young female soldiers instead on Saturday.

In return, Israel released around 200 Palestinians from custody. The next release of three more hostages is set to take place next Saturday, according to the agreement.

Israel has said the absence of civilian releases is a violation of the ceasefire agreement. Hamas meanwhile says Israel is violating the deal by blocking the return of Gaza civilians to the north of the coastal strip, which should have been allowed from one week after the start of the ceasefire on January 19.

On the southern side of the Israeli military's Netzarim corridor, which divides the coastal strip from west to east into two parts, thousands of people are reported to be queuing up to return to their homes in the north.

Two people were killed and 15 wounded by Israeli soldiers' gunfire, according to medical sources in the Gaza Strip. The information could not initially be independently verified.