ye7 Israel Frees Palestinian Prisoners After Chaotic Hostage Handover

Israel and Hamas exchanged a new group of hostages and prisoners on Thursday in a handover that devolved into chaos as the armed militants struggled to control a chantingye7, jostling crowd of Palestinians trying to catch a glimpse of Israelis held captive during 15 months of war.

Hamas released a total of eight Israeli and Thai hostages in the Gaza Strip, including the tightly choreographed handover of an Israeli soldier, Agam Berger, 20, in the northern town of Jabaliya.

But the tumult surrounding the release of two other Israeli hostages — Arbel Yehud, 29, and Gadi Moses, 80, in the city of Khan Younis — infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. It led his office to announce he had suspended the release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners as called for under the truce brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

house of fun 200 free spins

The episode briefly cast doubt on whether the prisoner release would happen at all.

Mr. Netanyahu blasted the “shocking scenes” of crowds yelling and jostling to get nearer to a fearful-looking Ms. Yehud and a grim-looking Mr. Moses. “This is additional proof of the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas terrorist organization,” the Israel prime minister said.

He called on the international mediators to secure guarantees from Hamas for “the safe exit of our hostages in the next rounds.” The Israeli government later relented,og777 releasing the imprisoned Palestinians, saying that mediators had promised safe passage for hostages in future exchanges.

ImagePeople gathering in Tel Aviv to watch the release of the hostages on Thursday.Credit...Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Overall, violent crime fell 3 percent and property crime fell 2.6 percent in 2023, with burglaries down 7.6 percent and larceny down 4.4 percent. Car thefts, though, continue to be an exception, rising more than 12 percent from the year before.

But the move backfired in a way that few supporters expected. Californians in 2021 actually tossed nearly 50 percent more plastic bags, by weight, than when the law first passed in 2014, according to data from CalRecycle, California’s recycling agency.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.ye7