Morocco Navy Recovers Bodies of 5 Senegalese Migrants after Boat Capsizes

Migrants from Africa sit on the ground as they are stuck in the desert between the Libyan-Tunisian border, near Al-Assah, Libya August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed
Migrants from Africa sit on the ground as they are stuck in the desert between the Libyan-Tunisian border, near Al-Assah, Libya August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed
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Morocco Navy Recovers Bodies of 5 Senegalese Migrants after Boat Capsizes

Migrants from Africa sit on the ground as they are stuck in the desert between the Libyan-Tunisian border, near Al-Assah, Libya August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed
Migrants from Africa sit on the ground as they are stuck in the desert between the Libyan-Tunisian border, near Al-Assah, Libya August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed

The Moroccan navy has recovered the bodies of five Senegalese migrants and rescued 189 others after their boat capsized off the coast of Western Sahara, official media reported.

A military official said 11 other migrants were in critical condition and were taken to Hassan II hospital in the city of Dakhla in Western Sahara, Morocco's official news agency MAP reported.

Their boat capsized Saturday off Guerguerat, a village in the south of Western Sahara close to the border with Mauritania, the unidentified official said. It is believed they were trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands.



Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners

Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
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Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners

Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Israel said early Sunday the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is delayed “until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies” at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.

The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came as military vehicles that normally move in advance of the buses carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison, only to turn around and go back in.

The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners had been delayed for several hours and was meant to occur just after six Israeli hostages were released on Saturday. It was meant to be the largest one-day prisoner release in the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase.

Israel’s announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.
The Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners’ affairs confirmed the delay “until further notice.” Associated Press video in the West Bank showed prisoners’ families, waiting outdoors in near-freezing weather, apparently dispersing. One woman was shown walking away in tears.

Five of the six hostages freed Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd — a display that the UN and Red Cross have criticized as cruel after previous handovers.
The Israeli statement cited “ceremonies that demean the dignity of our hostages and the cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes.” It was likely a reference to a Hamas video showing two hostages who have yet to be released watching a handover in Gaza on Saturday and speaking under duress.
The six were the last living hostages expected to be freed under the ceasefire's first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.
The six included three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another taken while visiting family in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the 16-month war in Gaza. The two others were held for a decade after entering Gaza on their own.
Five were handed over in staged ceremonies.

The 620 Palestinian prisoners meant to be freed include 151 serving life or other sentences for attacks against Israelis. Almost 100 would be deported, according to the Palestinian prisoners' media office.
A Palestinian prisoner rights association said they include Nael Barghouti, who spent over 45 years in prison for an attack that killed an Israeli bus driver.
Also meant to be released are 445 men, 23 children aged 15 to 19, and a woman, all seized by Israeli troops in Gaza without charge during the war.