“I welcome that the agreement between Hamas and Israel has led to the release of prisoners and the delivery of more humanitarian aid,” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a news conference in Brussels, Anadolu Agency reports.
“I call for an extension of the pause. This would allow for much-needed relief to the people of Gaza and the release of more prisoners,” he added.
Stoltenberg stressed that “the suffering we have seen underlines the need for a lasting political solution,” while also expressing concern about the possible escalation of the conflict.
Israel has released a third batch of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for over a dozen prisoners freed by the Hamas Resistance movement as part of a swap deal, which followed a four-day truce in the regime’s unrelenting war.
The Israeli regime released 39 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday after Hamas freed 17 captives in the third phase of the deal, which was also the third day of the truce.
The resistance movement said in a statement that it had handed over 13 Israeli captives in addition to three Thai nationals and one Russian to the Red Cross.
According to the statement, the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel were young people who had been arrested by the regime when they were children.
Reporting on the exchange process, the Palestinian Information Center said Israeli forces prevented people from gathering in front of the Ofer prison near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, from which the Palestinian prisoners were released. They also dispersed Palestinians in the town of Beitunia, which is also close to the prison.
The regime’s forces fired live bullets and tear gas canisters at Palestinian civilians who had gathered close to the facility, wounding a number of them and a journalist.
Thousands of Palestinians received the liberated prisoners in Ramallah. They gathered in the center of the city carrying flags of the Hamas movement and chanting slogans in support of the Palestinian resistance.
In the occupied city of al-Quds, Israeli forces stormed the homes of liberated prisoners several times, beating the prisoners’ families and preventing media outlets from covering the moments of the prisoners’ release. They also prevented reception ceremonies for the released Palestinian prisoners.
Following the exchange, Mahmoud Mardawi, a senior Hamas official, said the resistance is ready to conclude a “comprehensive” swap agreement with the occupying regime, adding that the ball was now in the regime’s court.
MNA
