Arbel Yehoud’s release on Thursday will come as a huge relief to her family and friends, whose hopes for her return had been repeatedly crushed over the past 15 months.
Despite being a civilian and female, Yehoud was not freed as part of the short-lived November 2023 ceasefire deal which called for the release of all women and children held captive.
Under phase one of the ceasefire agreement, Israel expected Yehoud to be among the first hostages to be let go.
When she was not released last Saturday, Israel delayed the opening of Gaza’s Netzarim corridor, refusing to let Palestinian civilians back into northern Gaza as agreed under the deal. Both sides had accused each other of not sticking to the terms of the agreement.
That dispute is partially attributable to the fact that Yehoud was not being held by Hamas.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement said last Saturday that it, not Hamas, was holding Yehud. Two days later, PIJ released a video of Yehud in which she made remarks that suggested it had been filmed recently.
The dispute was resolved late Sunday, when Hamas agreed to release more hostages, including Yehud, on Thursday and Saturday.
