Hamas has released the names of three Israeli hostages it says it will release on Saturday in the fifth such swap of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
The hostages are Eli Sharabi, Ohad ben Ami and Or Levy, Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said in a Telegram post.
In return for the captives’ release, Hamas said it expects 183 Palestinian prisoners to be released.
Image: Jabalia, in northern Gaza, after months of Israel attacks.
Pic: Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Both Mr Ami and Mr Sharabi were taken from Kibbutz Be’eri during the 7 October attack. The cross-border attack saw around 1,200 Israelis killed and around 250 people taken hostage.
Mr Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival.
Of the Palestinian prisoners being freed, 18 have been serving life sentences, 54 were serving long sentences and the vast majority, 111, were detained in the Gaza Strip during the war.
Mr Sharabi’s wife Lianne Sharabi was born in Bristol.
According to a statement from his lawyer, she, along with their children, 16-year-old Noiya and 13-year-old Yahel, were killed in the 7 October attack.
His brother was also said to have died while a hostage.
In a statement after news he would be released was announced, Mr Sharabi’s lawyer said: “The Sharabi family has already lost too much,”.
It added: “It is long past time to bring Eli home.”
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17:34
Trump 100 Day 17: Can Trump take over the Gaza Strip?
Row over aid access
Earlier on Friday, Hamas accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire accord and held off announcing the names of the Israeli hostages until the deadline had passed.
The militant group claimed Israel delayed the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying food and other humanitarian supplies and held back all but a fraction of the tents and mobile homes needed to provide people shelter in the devastated enclave.
“This demonstrates clear manipulation of relief and shelter priorities,” Hamas said in a statement.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency that is overseeing the aid deliveries into Gaza, denied the accusation.
It added Israel would “not tolerate violations by Hamas”.
The claims and counter-claims highlight the fragility and uncertainty of the ceasefire.
This is only heightened by US President Donald Trump recently saying the US could take over Gaza and move the Palestinian population out.
Israel has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and displaced the majority of the strip’s population.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Passengers have been evacuated from Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 as a “precautionary measure”.
Flights could be “temporarily impacted”, the airport said in a statement.
It did not give any details about the reason for the evacuation but said “the safety and security of our passengers and staff is our absolute priority”.
“We advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest updates,” the airport added, saying further information would be provided as soon as it is available.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
At least 70 people have been killed after a paramilitary drone attack on a mosque in Sudan.
The Sudanese army and aid workers said the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out the attack during Friday prayers in the North Darfur region.
The attack took place in the besieged city of Al Fasher and was said to have completely destroyed the mosque.
With bodies still buried under the rubble, the number of deaths is likely to rise, a worker with the local aid group Emergency Response Rooms said.
The worker spoke anonymously, fearing retaliation from the RSF.
Further details of the attack were difficult to ascertain because it took place in an area where many international and charitable organisations have already pulled out because of the violence.
In a statement, Sudan’s army said it was mourning the victims of the attack.
It said: “Targeting civilians unjustly is the motto of this rebel militia, and it continues to do so in full view of the entire world.”
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The Sudan war started in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out in Khartoum.
The US special envoy to Sudan estimates that 150,000 people have been killed, but the exact figure is unknown. Close to 12 million people have been displaced.
Several mediation attempts have failed to secure a humanitarian access mechanism or any lulls in fighting.
The Resistance Committees in El Fasher, a group of local activists who track abuses, posted a video on Friday claiming to show parts of the mosque reduced to rubble with several scattered bodies.
The Darfur Victims Support Organisation, which monitors abuses against civilians, said the attack happened at a mosque on the Daraga al Oula street at around 5am local time, citing witnesses.
The attack is the latest in a series of heavy clashes in the past week of between the two sides in Al Fasher.
Banned from Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia will hold a rival international song contest on Saturday, with an emphasis on “traditional values”.
Instead of camp, think conservative – patriotic pop with a PG-rating.
“Intervision” was launched under the order of Vladimir Putin, with the hope it would serve as an expression of Moscow’s international pulling power.
Image: Intervision decorations in Red Square, Moscow, ahead of the contest
There are contestants from 23 countries, which are a mixture of Russia’s allies old and new, including Belarus, Cuba and Tajikistan as well as China, India and Saudi Arabia.
The odd one out is the United States, who’ll be represented by an artist called “Vassy”. She’s not part of an official delegation, but an American voice is still a coup for the Kremlin, which will seek to use this contest as proof of the West’s failure to isolate Russia on the global stage.
‘War whitewash’
Intervision is not entirely new. It was originally launched in the 1960s as an instrument of Soviet soft power, before largely fading from view in the 1980s.
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According to Moscow, its revival has nothing to do with politics. But Ukraine has condemned it as propaganda, and an attempt to whitewash Russia’s war.
It was a point I put to some contestants after their final press conferences, but it didn’t go down well.
“We don’t think like that, we are here to spread peace,” India’s Rauhan Malik told me, when I asked if his participation was a show of support for Russia’s invasion.
Image: Malik, one of the contestants
“Are you not turning a blind eye to Russia’s aggression?” I countered.
“I have no idea about it,” he said. “I have no idea about the current situation that’s happening. I don’t want to speak about that as well.”
Image: Eurovision legends Abba would almost certainly not make the Russian contest guest list. Pic: AP
Really? He had no idea? But before I could go on, I felt a forceful hand on my shoulder and a minder stepped in.
The intervention was even quicker when it came to speaking to Brazil’s act. As soon as I mentioned the word Ukraine, I was drowned out by shouts of “no, no, no, no” and the duo were ushered away.
Image: Brazilian contestants, duo Luciano Calazans and Thais Nader
Where’s the glitter?
Intervision is not just a reaction to Russia’s recent exclusion from Eurosivion, however, it’s also a reaction to the contest’s values and what it’s come to represent.
Its celebration of sexual diversity and LGBTQ+ rights are seen as a symbol of what the Kremlin calls the West’s moral decline. In contrast, Intervision organisers say their contest will promote “traditional, family values.”
Judging by the costumes on show ahead of last week’s draw, that translates to less glitter, more embroidery, with a thematic emphasis on national heritage.
So what do Russians think of Intervision’s resurrection? Can it replace Eurovision?
“We don’t miss Eurovision,” Galina and Tatiana say, underneath a collection of purple and pink ‘Intervision’ flags near Red Square.
“It was so horrible, especially lately. We didn’t like watching it at all.”
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3:27
Why are countries boycotting Eurovision?
Polina agrees, believing Russia’s version will be “more interesting”.
“Many countries that participated in Eurovision want to boycott it, so it’s interesting to see a more peaceful event now,” she says.
Igor is more circumspect. “I’d like to believe that this isn’t a political event,” he says, “but rather an event that unites nations and people.”
Intervision will succeed in uniting some nations. But at the same time, it may only deepen divisions with others – further evidence that Russia and the West are singing very different tunes.