Hamas releases three Israeli hostages in central Gaza

The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Deir al-Balah city of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, in accordance with a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

This release marks the fifth hostage-prisoner swap under the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

The three Israeli hostages, kidnapped in a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, are Ohad Ben Ami, 56, a dual Israeli-German citizen; Eli Sharabi, 52; and Or Levy, 34.

The three hostages, appearing visibly frail and exhausted, were escorted onto a platform by Hamas fighters to speak first and were then handed over by Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, to the ICRC.

Thousands of Palestinians gathered at the scene, expressing hope that the ceasefire agreement would continue to hold and lead to a broader and comprehensive peace deal.

"I am very happy about the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. The bloodshed has stopped, so have the gunfire, the air strikes and bombings. This is the happiest thing for us and the greatest wish of everyone here," said a Palestinian resident.

"We hope the first phase of the handover goes smoothly so we can return to our homeland. We come from northern Gaza. Some roads back home are still closed and travel costs to the north are also high. Therefore, we wish for a full ceasefire so that all roads can be reopened for us to go home with the cheapest cost possible," said another.

As part of the swap, Israel also began releasing the 183 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails on Saturday.

The three-phase ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas took effect on January 19, halting 15 months of Israeli military operations in Gaza that left the enclave devastated and that killed around 62,000 people, including more than 17,000 children.

Hamas releases three Israeli hostages in central Gaza

Hamas releases three Israeli hostages in central Gaza

Hamas releases three Israeli hostages in central Gaza

Hamas releases three Israeli hostages in central Gaza

Hamas releases three Israeli hostages in central Gaza

The Ministry of Commerce will expand the reform task authorization for the three pilot free trade zones (FTZ) in Tianjin Municipality, Guangdong and Fujian provinces, and assign them new pilot reform tasks.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of their establishment, the ministry held a special press conference on the achievements of the three pilot FTZs in Beijing on Friday.

In the past decade, the import and export volume of the Guangdong FTZ grew from 110 billion yuan in 2015 to 740 billion yuan in 2024, at an average annual growth rate of 24 percent. The Fujian FTZ has seen 138,000 new enterprises registered in the ten years, 8.8 times the number when the zone was launched. The Tianjin FTZ has recorded an average actual use of foreign investment of 2 billion U.S. dollars annually.

And the three FTZs have accumulated over 140 replicable institutional innovation achievements, promoting innovation and development in multiple industries.

Building on these successes, the Ministry of Commerce vowed to prioritize connections with high-standard international economic and trade rules and promote institutional opening-up experiments in FTZs. The ministry also pledged to accelerate the implementation of pilot opening up projects in key sectors, including telecommunication, health care, education, and cultural industry, while better implementing the new negative list for foreign investment and rolling out new policies and measures to promote the development of new business forms and models, including cross-border e-commerce and bonded maintenance.

"We will strengthen guidance for pilot free trade zones, expand the reform task authorization for the three pilot free trade zones in Tianjin Municipality, Guangdong and Fujian provinces, and assign them new pilot reform tasks. We will support eligible pilot free trade zones to carry out integrated innovation throughout the entire industry chain in key sectors such as biomedicine, equipment manufacturing and marine economy. We will also strengthen policy empowerment for the pilot free trade zones in the central and western regions and border areas, and support them to better play a demonstrative and leading role in serving major national strategies and firmly responding to external risks and challenges," said Meng Huating, director of the free trade zone and free trade port department under the Ministry of Commerce at the press conference.

In the next step, the ministry will support the FTZs in key economic regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to strengthen coordination and strategic alignment of their respective pillar industries.

China to expand reform in FTZs