The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that it would hand over the body of a new Israeli prisoner on Monday evening. Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed that the 99th Division was withdrawing from the Gaza Strip after four months of fighting, part of a two-year genocidal war.
The Qassam Brigades' announcement comes as part of the first phase of a prisoner exchange agreement and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which went into effect on October 10.
"Al-Qassam Brigades said in a post on Telegram that it will hand over the body of one of the occupation prisoners that was extracted today in the Gaza Strip at 9:00 PM Gaza time (6:00 PM GMT)."
Later, the Israeli occupation army stated in a statement that International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) crews were on their way to receive the body of a prisoner in Gaza.
The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that preparations are underway in Israel to return the body of a slain prisoner from the Gaza Strip at 9:00 PM on Monday. Citing an unnamed Israeli source, the authority indicated that the return of the body "comes an hour before the deadline given to Hamas by US President Donald Trump."
Since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, Hamas has released 20 living Israeli prisoners and the remains of 16 of the 28, most of whom are Israeli. However, Tel Aviv says the bodies of 13 prisoners remain in Gaza, after claiming that one of the bodies received did not match any of its prisoners.
Under the exchange deal, Israel released 195 Palestinian bodies and returned them to the Gaza Strip via the International Committee of the Red Cross, without names or identities.
Facility collapse
In a related development, two Palestinians were killed and another was injured on Monday when a temporary barracks collapsed. Its concrete walls had been cracked by previous Israeli bombing during the two years of genocide, and the building was located near the Gaza City port.
The Palestinian Civil Defense said in a statement that its crews recovered "two dead workers and a third injured, as a result of the collapse of a barn and concrete walls while they were carrying out maintenance work near the Galleria Hall, in the vicinity of the fishermen's port west of Gaza City."
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal reported that the walls were cracked and vulnerable to collapse due to damage from previous Israeli shelling of the area during the war of extermination. He confirmed that "thousands of buildings in the Gaza Strip are now at risk of collapse at any moment due to the widespread destruction caused by the recent Israeli war."
There have been repeated incidents of buildings collapsing or walls cracked by previous Israeli bombardment, resulting in deaths and injuries, since the agreement came into effect.
In contrast, the Israeli occupation army announced on Monday the end of the 99th Division's mission in the northern Gaza Strip, following four months of killing, displacement, and genocide that targeted thousands of Palestinians in the Strip.
The Israeli army said in a statement that "the division, which commanded seven regular and reserve brigades, completed its operations in the northern Gaza Strip after four months of genocide, in addition to destroying their homes and infrastructure in the northern Gaza Strip.
End the state of emergency
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz decided on Monday to end the state of emergency in the south of the country for the first time since it was declared two years ago following a Hamas attack on military bases adjacent to the Gaza Strip.
The Times of Israel news website reported: "For the first time since the October 7, 2023, attack, the defense minister has decided to lift the state of emergency declared in southern Israel," effective tomorrow, Tuesday.
He continued: "A state of emergency was declared throughout the country on the morning of October 7, 2023, but it has remained in effect since then only in the south," adding: "The order expires tomorrow (Tuesday), and for the first time in more than two years, there will be no active special situation in Israel."
The Hebrew website quoted Katz as saying in a statement: "I decided to adopt the IDF's recommendation and raise the special status on the home front, for the first time since October 7." He added that "the decision reflects the new security reality in the south of the country, achieved thanks to the decisive and strong actions taken by our forces over the past two years against the Hamas organization," he said.
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israeli military bases and settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip "in response to Tel Aviv's attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque," killing, wounding, and capturing hundreds of Israelis, in what was considered the largest security breach.
The day after the attack, Israel launched a two-year genocide in the Gaza Strip, killing 68,527 Palestinians, wounding 170,395 others, and damaging approximately 90% of the Strip's civilian infrastructure, resulting in losses estimated at approximately $70 billion. A ceasefire began on October 10.
