00:00Israel has released 110 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for eight hostages held by Hamas,
00:08the third such swap since the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect.
00:12The former prisoners were met by thousands of cheering Palestinians as they were bussed
00:16into the West Bank city of Ramallah.
00:19But Israel delayed their release in protest against the way the hostages were treated
00:23as they were handed over to Red Cross staff in Khan Yunis.
00:27The hostages were met with a chaotic scene of rowdy crowds as they were escorted by armed
00:32gunmen.
00:34Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a sharp rebuke, warning of consequences
00:39if any of the hostages were harmed.
00:41During the release of our hostages today, we all saw shivering faces.
00:47We told the reporters that we are not prepared to accept any risk to our hostages.
00:52Hamas has so far released 15 hostages since the 19th of January when the ceasefire came
01:04into effect.
01:06The 110 Palestinians released on Thursday brings the total of prisoners freed by Israel
01:11to 400.
01:12Meanwhile, a law passed last year by the Knesset banning the UN agency for Palestinian refugees
01:19UNWR from operating within Israeli territory also came into force on Thursday.
01:24The agency said it had received no official communication from Israel about how the ban
01:29would be implemented, but 25 international staff have left Jerusalem for the Jordanian
01:34capital, Amman.
01:37It's like a nightmare scenario and it's also completely outlandish that a member state
01:42of the United Nations system would choose to undo the mandate of an organization, which
01:48let's not forget is mandated by the UN General Assembly.
01:52The immediate concern now is aid for Gaza.
01:56Part of phase one of the ceasefire deal makes provision for a marked increase in aid deliveries
02:01to the Strip and UNWR provides more than half of that.
02:05Israel has long been at odds with UNWR, claiming its existence has prolonged the conflict between
02:10Israelis and Palestinians.
02:12It also alleges that around a dozen of UNWR's 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the
02:18Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
02:22The agency denies knowingly aiding armed groups and says it acts quickly to purge any suspected
02:28militants among its staff.
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