The release has become possible thanks to “direct agreements between Russian representatives and Hamas,” according to Zakharova.
A captive with a Russian passport was released on Saturday as a result of direct agreements with the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, not under the prisoner swap deal, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“The efforts Russian diplomats are making in contacts with Hamas concerning the release of hostages are yielding results. Today, a holder of the Russian passport was released and handed over to the Red Cross. Russian diplomats will visit him as soon as it is possible,” she wrote on her Telegram channel.
The third batch of Israeli captives was released by Al-Qassam Brigades fighters in Gaza City, specifically in eastern #Gaza pic.twitter.com/Y5XD2SVGp5
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According to the spokeswoman, the release has become possible thanks to “direct agreements between Russian representatives and Hamas.”
“These efforts will continue,” she added.
Taher al-Nunu, a spokesman for senior Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh, told TASS earlier in the day that Hamas had released a Russian national and transferred him to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Russian presidential envoy for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told TASS in late October that Hamas had promised to answer Russia’s request to release eight Russian nationals who were held hostage.
ISRAELI CHANNEL 12: The detainees in the third batch were handed over to the Israeli army, on their way to a crossing near Kibbutz Be'eri, after they were handed over by the Qassam Brigades to the Red Cross.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 26, 2023
The Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli government have agreed to a four-day truce that will see the release of 50 women and children held in Gaza in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.
The deal was announced on Wednesday and the starting time is expected to be confirmed in the next 24 hours, according to a statement from Qatar, which mediated the agreement.
(PC, TASS)
