Israel releases 5 Palestinian workers detained at Gaza border crossing

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Israel released five Palestinian workers Thursday who had been arrested at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Gaza amid its ongoing assault on the enclave.

The freed workers—Ayman Afaneh from Deir al-Balah, Naseem Al-Shanawi, Ahmed Al-Jabali and Ahmed Jaber from Northern Gaza and Hani Al-Bureim from Khan Younis—were transported to the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis for medical check-ups, witnesses said.

Israel has previously released hundreds of detainees from Gaza as part of the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas which took effect on Jan. 19.

The Kerem Shalom crossing, a key commercial and humanitarian entry point into Gaza, has been largely inaccessible due to the Israeli war, severely impacting the flow of goods and aid into the besieged territory.

The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing 855 people, injuring nearly 1,900 others and shattering the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

More than 50,200 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 113,900 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.