Hamas has set up a platform in Jabalia, where it is believed that IDF observer Agam Berger will be displayed before her release.
חמאס הציב במה בג’באלייה לקראת שחרור 8 החטופים שיתקיים ככל הנראה אחרי השעה 10:00 pic.twitter.com/KqxEczBRVb
— זירת החדשות (@ZiratNews) January 30, 2025
Gadi Mozes, Arbel Yehud, and IDF observer Agam Berger, who have been held captive by Hamas for 482 days, are expected to be released on Thursday as part of the third phase of the deal with the terrorist organization Hamas.
In addition to the three Israelis, five foreign workers from Thailand who were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, are also expected to be released.
Also, on Saturday, three more living men over the age of 50 are expected to be freed, with their names to be announced by Friday at 4:00 PM. Their families will be notified on Friday. By the end of Saturday, a total of six more hostages will have returned to Israel.
According to the agreement, the hostages are scheduled to be released by 4:00 PM Thursday, although estimates suggest the release will begin at 10:00 AM. The Red Cross will transfer the hostages to the IDF, which will then transport them to the Re’im camp. After an initial medical assessment, they will be flown by helicopter to Ichilov, Sheba, Assaf Harofeh, and Beilinson hospitals. Barzilai and Soroka hospitals will also be on standby to provide medical assistance if needed.
Agam Berger, a female IDF observer who was violently kidnapped from the Nahal Oz outpost on October 7, was initially set to be released last Saturday alongside the other female observers abducted with her. However, at the last minute, Hamas announced that she would remain in captivity, in line with its continued use of hostages as leverage.
Arbel Yehud was originally supposed to be released in the previous round as part of the agreement prioritizing the release of civilians. However, Hamas refused to release her. On October 7, she was abducted from her bed in Nahal Oz along with her partner, Ariel Kunio, who remains in captivity alongside his brother, David Kunio.
Following Hamas’s refusal to release Arbel, Israel announced that it would not open the Netzarim corridor to the Gazans crossing into the northern Strip. After the announcement of her upcoming release, the Netzarim corridor was reopened.
Gadi Mozes, 80, was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, and his wife, Efrat Katz, was murdered by the terrorists. Efrat’s daughter, Doron Katz-Asher, and her two daughters, Aviv and Raz, were also taken captive and later released in the first hostage deal in November 2023.
Approximately two months after the attack, Hamas released a video showing Gadi Mozes alongside the hostage Elad Katzir, who was later murdered in captivity. Elad’s body was recovered from Khan Younes.
More than a hundred terrorists will be released on Friday in exchange for the three Israelis. For IDF observer Agam Berger, Israel has pledged to release some 50 life-term terrorists with blood on their hands. In exchange for Arbel Yehud, Israel will release 30 life-term Islamic Jihad terrorists. For Gadi Mozes, Israel will release another 30 terrorists.
Israel paid nothing in exchange for the Thai hostages.
