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Six Israeli hostages have been handed over by Hamas on Saturday, while hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are due to be released.

The Gaza ceasefire deal continues to hold, despite tensions rising this week when Hamas initially handed over the body of an unidentified Palestinian woman instead of Israeli mother-of-two Shiri Bibas.

The release of hostages and prisoners on Saturday is the last one scheduled in the ceasefire’s first phase.

Five of the Israeli hostages were handed over in public displays, with the captives ushered out of cars by balaclava-clad men holding rifles. The remaining hostage was released to the Red Cross in private.

Of the hostages released today, two had been in captivity for a decade.

Israel is expected to free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners later on Saturday, including a man who has been detained for more than 40 years. However, Hamas claimed the release had been delayed as the detainees had been “assaulted”.

Follow latest: Delay to prisoner release due to ‘assaults’ – Hamas

The first of six hostages to be released
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The first of six hostages to be released

Who are the freed Israeli hostages?

The first two hostages released on Saturday were Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu.

Mr Shoham, 40, was visiting his wife’s family in Kibbutz Be’eri when Hamas militants stormed into the community during the October 7 attacks in 2023.

His wife, two young children and three other relatives were also abducted, but they were freed in an exchange in November 2023.

Abra Mengistu in the emotional meeting with his family at the initial absorption point in Israel.. Pics IDF
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Abra Mengistu hugs his family in Israel after his release. Pic: IDF

Mr Mengistu, a 39-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli, had been held in Gaza since he entered the territory on his own in 2014.

Watching the moment he was freed on TV, his family broke out in song as he walked free for the first time in more than a decade.

Later on Saturday, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert were handed over to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza.

Mr Shem Tov, 22, was taken during the October 7 attacks on the Nova music festival.

The computer programmer had shared his live location with his family, who eventually noticed he was headed towards Gaza and contact with him was lost.

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Hostage reunited with parents

Mr Cohen, 27, was also taken from the Nova festival, alongside his fiancee.

Released hostages have said that he was kept in chains and deprived of food and sunlight during his time in captivity, according to reports.

Mr Wenkert, 23, was taken from Nova. He suffers from colitis and requires special medical care, it has been reported.

Finally, Hisham al Sayed, 28, was handed over in a private ceremony.

The Bedouin-Israeli, from the village of Hura in the Negev desert, has been a captive since he crossed into Gaza in 2015.

Nael Barghouti during his wedding celebrations in the West Bank village of Kobar, near Ramallah November 17, 2011. File pic: Reuters
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Nael Barghouti pictured in 2011. Pic: Reuters

Who are the Palestinian prisoners due to be released?

More than 600 Palestinian prisoners are also expected to be released on Saturday.

According to the prisons office, which is run by Hamas, this includes 50 who had been sentenced to life imprisonment, 60 described as having “high” sentences, 47 prisoners from the “Wafa al Ahrar” 2011 prisoner exchange deal who had since been re-arrested, and 445 who were arrested after 7 October attacks.

The “Wafa al-Ahrar” deal was the 2011 prisoner exchange agreement that saw the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1027 Palestinian prisoners.

Read more:
Body of Shiri Bibas returned, family confirms
Fragile Gaza ceasefire stumbles from one hurdle to next

Among the most high-profile Palestinians to be released is Nael Barghouti – the longest-serving prisoner, who has been inside for 43 years.

Also on the list are several journalists, many of whom covered events at al Shifa hospital, and Yousef al Mansi, a Palestinian minister in Gaza.

It had been expected that Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, would be among those being released on Saturday.

However it later emerged that he was not on the list of those being freed.

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Mile after mile of grey rubble – the view from a plane dropping aid to Gaza

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Mile after mile of grey rubble - the view from a plane dropping aid to Gaza

We are on our way to Gaza with the Jordanian military.

The aircraft is hot and noisy and as we get closer, the atmosphere gets more tense. Aircrew gesture with their hands to tell us how many minutes there are to go. Fifteen. Six. One.

The Jordanian military C-130 flies out over the sea before banking and heading inland for Gaza. The parachutes, attached to the top of each of the eight pallets, are prepared for the drop.

As land approaches, I look down. The ground is modern and built up – we’re still over southern Israel.

Then a few short minutes later, it’s clear we’ve crossed Gaza’s border.

The ground turns grey, the shapes of buildings disappear, there are no cars, no people.

You can see the outline of communities and villages that are now flattened. Mile after mile of grey rubble.

This mission by the Royal Jordanian Air Force is one of the first aid drop flights since Israel announced they could resume. It is carrying eight tonnes of food and baby formula.

Jordanian military personnel load aid parcels onto a plane that will be airdropped over Gaza, in Zarqa, Jordan.
Pic: Reuters
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Jordanian military personnel load aid parcels on to a plane in Zarqa, Jordan. Pic: Reuters

Jordanian military personnel load aid parcels onto a plane that will be airdropped over Gaza, in Zarqa, Jordan.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Foreign nations know this is a deeply flawed way of delivering aid – road convoys are far more effective and can carry far more – but the Jordanian flight crew say the need in Gaza is so urgent, it’s simply an attempt to do something.

When the aircraft ramp opens, the aid is pushed out and it’s gone in seconds.

The parachutes seem peaceful as they open and their fall slows. But dropping food from the sky is a dangerous and undignified way to feed people.

On the ground it’s chaos.

Our colleagues in Gaza say the fighting for food has become lethal – gangs are now punching and stabbing people to reach it first. Most critically, it’s not getting to the weakest. To those who really need it.

One man becomes emotional as he describes racing to find food and leaving with nothing.

“I came only for my son,” he says. “I wouldn’t come here if it was just for me. When you have a child, they need bread.”

He’s an engineer in normal times and seems in disbelief that his life has come to this. “The aid comes from the sky and we have to run after it. I’ve never had to do this in my life.”

Read more:
Why are aid airdrops so dangerous?
Inside Gaza’s Nasser Hospital

Jordanian military personnel air drop aid parcels over Gaza, July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
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Jordanian military personnel drop aid parcels over Gaza. Pic: Reuters


Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Central Gaza Strip as seen from Khan Younis Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Humanitarian aid is airdropped over the central Gaza Strip, as seen from Khan Younis. Pic: AP

It is hoped Israel’s humanitarian pauses in fighting will rapidly increase food distribution by road but it’s very unclear how that is going.

Hospitals in Gaza have reported another 14 deaths from starvation in the last 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said on Monday.

Airstrikes killed another at least 78 Palestinians across Gaza on Monday, local health officials said.

We cannot verify these numbers because Israel has not allowed international journalists access to Gaza.

And Monday’s flight came with strict media conditions.

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We were told the Israeli side had warned that any shots of Gaza filmed from the air could result in these aid flights being cancelled.

But Israel’s tight grip has not stopped the images from Gaza getting out, horrifying people around the world.

The question now is what more the international community will do about it.

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Israeli human rights organisations accuse country of genocide

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Israeli human rights organisations accuse country of genocide

Two Israeli human rights organisations have said the country is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In reports published on Monday, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said Israel was carrying out “coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip”.

The two groups are the first major voices within Israeli society to make such accusations against the state during nearly 22 months of war against Hamas.

Israel has vehemently denied claims of genocide. David Mencer, a spokesperson for the government, called the allegation by the rights groups “baseless”.

He said: “There is no intent, (which is) key for the charge of genocide… it simply doesn’t make sense for a country to send in 1.9 million tonnes of aid, most of that being food, if there is an intent of genocide.”

B’Tselem director Yuli Novak called for urgent action, saying: “What we see is a clear, intentional attack on civilians in order to destroy a group.”

The organisation’s report “is one we never imagined we would have to write,” Ms Novak said. “The people of Gaza have been displaced, bombed, and starved, left completely stripped of their humanity and rights.”

More on Gaza

PHR said Israel’s military campaign shows evidence of a “deliberate and systemic dismantling of Gaza’s health and life-sustaining systems”.

Both organisations said Israel’s Western allies were enabling the genocidal campaign, and shared responsibility for suffering in Gaza.

“It couldn’t happen without the support of the Western world,” Ms Novak said. “Any leader that is not doing whatever they can to stop it is part of this horror.”

Hamas said the reports by the two groups were a “clear and unambiguous testimony from within Israeli society itself regarding the grave crimes perpetrated by the occupation regime against our people”.

Read more:
Why are airdrops on Gaza so dangerous?
UN: ‘Vast amounts of aid needed to stave off catastrophic health crisis’

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Sky News on board Gaza aid plane

Dire humanitarian conditions

Since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the deadly Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, nearly 60,000 people – mostly civilians – have been killed, according to Gaza health officials.

Much of the infrastructure has been destroyed, and nearly the whole population of more than two million has been displaced.

An increasing number of people in Gaza are also dying from starvation and malnutrition, according to Gaza health authorities.

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On Monday, the Gaza health ministry reported that at least 14 people had died from starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of hunger-related deaths during the war to 147.

Among the victims were 88 children, with most of the deaths occurring in recent weeks.

UN agencies say the territory is running out of food for its people and accuse Israel of not allowing enough aid deliveries to the enclave. Israel denies those claims.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said “there is no starvation in Gaza” and vowed to fight on against Hamas.

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Trump: Gaza children ‘look very hungry’

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that many in Gaza are facing starvation and implied that Israel could take further steps to improve humanitarian access.

Israel has repeatedly said its actions in Gaza are in self-defence, placing full responsibility for civilian casualties on Hamas. It cites the militant group’s refusal to release hostages, surrender, or stop operating within civilian areas – allegations that Hamas denies.

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Why are airdrops on Gaza so dangerous?

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Why are airdrops on Gaza so dangerous?

The United Nations has condemned airdrops on Gaza, warning they risk killing the starving Palestinians they are intended to help.

Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel parachuted aid packages into the territory for the first time in months at the weekend amid claims a third of the population has not eaten for days.

But Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general for the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), has said they “will not reverse the deepening starvation” and often do more harm than good.

‘Make or break’ as starvation looms; Middle East latest

“They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians,” he wrote in a statement on X.

What is an airdrop – and why are they dangerous?

There are several ways humanitarian agencies and international allies can deliver aid to regions in need – by land, by sea, or by air.

While parachuting in supply packages from planes may look impressive, airdrops are “fraught with problems”, Sky correspondent in Jordan Sally Lockwood says, and often used as a “desperate last resort”.

“Foreign nations know airdrops are a deeply flawed way of delivering aid,” she says.

“Palestinian sources tell us the aid that’s been dropped so far is not reaching the most vulnerable. They are an attempt to get something to a few – often viewed as a desperate last resort. Gaza is at that point.”

A plane drops aid over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP
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A plane drops aid over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP

Air drops land over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP
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Air drops land over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP

Read more
Israel announces ‘tactical pause’ in fighting
Eyewitness: Aid is sitting idle in Gaza

Military analyst Sean Bell says that delivering aid by air is ideally done when planes can land on a runway – but Gaza’s only landing strip in Rafah was shut down in 2021.

The alternative is “very dangerous”, he warns. “Aircraft flying relatively low and slow over a warzone isn’t very clever. When these parcels hit the ground, there’s a significant danger of them hitting people.”

People in Gaza scramble for aid on Saturday. Pic: @ibrahim.st7 via Storyful
Image:
People in Gaza scramble for aid on Saturday. Pic: @ibrahim.st7 via Storyful

Crucially, they can only deliver a fraction of what lorries can.

“The really big issue is aircraft can only deliver one truckload of aid. Gaza needs 500 truckloads a day, so it’s 0.2% of the daily need,” Bell adds.

They also risk falling into the wrong hands and ending up on the black market.

“Some of it has been looted by gangs and is on the black market already,” Lockwood says.

Air drops land in northern Gaza on Sunday. Pic: AP
Image:
Air drops land in northern Gaza on Sunday. Pic: AP

Why are they happening now?

Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza at the beginning of March, reopening some aid centres in May, but with restrictions they said were designed to stop goods being stolen by Hamas militants.

Israeli authorities control the only three border crossings to the strip: Kerem Shalom in the south, Crossing 147 in the centre, and Erez to the north.

Since the current conflict with Hamas began in October 2023, humanitarian agencies and world leaders have repeatedly accused Israel of not allowing enough deliveries through.

Mr Lazzarini says the UN has “the equivalent of 6,000 trucks” in neighbouring Jordan and Egypt “waiting for the green light to get into Gaza”.

Israel says it has commissioned a “one-week scale-up of aid”, having conducted its own airdrops on Saturday.

In a statement over the weekend, the Israeli Defence Forces said it will work with the UN and other aid organisations to ensure aid is delivered but no more details were given.

Meanwhile on Sunday, it began daily 10-hour pauses in fighting in three areas of Gaza to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

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Baby Zainab starved to death in Gaza

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 133 Palestinians had died of malnutrition by then, including 87 children.

Doctors Without Borders warned on Friday that 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are malnourished.

Israel says there is no famine in Gaza.

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Sky’s Sally Lockwood on the runway in Jordan ahead of Gaza aid airdrop

What are in the airdrops and who is behind them?

Air packages are largely being delivered by C-130 planes. Jordan is reported to be using 10 and the UAE eight.

They can carry eight pallets of goods each, weighing around eight tonnes in total, according to Lockwood, who is on the runway at Jordan’s King Abdullah II airbase.

There are no medical supplies in the packages, she says, only dried food, rice, flour, and baby formula.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK will help with airdrops – but no British aircraft have been seen in Jordan so far.

He will discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump during talks in Scotland on Monday.

The RAF delivered 110 tonnes of aid across 10 drops last year as part of a Jordanian-led international coalition – but it is not clear what level of support will be offered this time.

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