Hamas hostages have already been with the Red Cross, according to the Israeli press
Hamas released the first group of hostages this Friday (24) after an agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas providing for a fourday ceasefire in the conflict in the region. The information comes from the Israeli press. The group held in Gaza was kidnapped in the Hamas attacks on October 7th. The agreement also provides for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
In the group of released hostages there are 13 women and children, all Israelis. According to Israeli newspapers, they were handed over by members of Hamas to agents of the NGO Red Cross, which coordinated the rescue, after an operation negotiated in secret for more than a month and brokered by Qatar and the United States.
In Egypt, in an unknown place, Israeli army helicopter were waiting to return them to Israeli territory. The Israeli government said the helicopters also carried military personnel Doctors and hostage communication specialistswho would make first contact with the freed hostages.
As of the last update of this report, the authorities involved in the operation had not yet provided details on the identification of the released hostages or their health status.
See what the journey of the hostages released by Hamas will be like until they arrive in Israel
More releases in the coming days
More hostages will be released in the coming days. The deal calls for Hamas to release more than 50 hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire in the attacks that began in the early hours of Friday and for the release of Palestinian prisoners held before the war began.
A first group of 39 prisoners, including teenagers, are scheduled to be released this Friday. This morning they were taken from the various prisons where they were being held, all in the West Bank, to a detention center in the city of Ramallah to be released.
After both parties confirmed the release of the Israelis on Thursday (23), Israel said it had received the list of names to be released and contacted the families, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The agreement came into force at 7 a.m. local time (2 a.m. in Brasília). The ceasefire applies in the north and south of Gaza, said the Qatari Foreign Ministry, which brokered the agreement.
Qatari ministry spokesman Majed AlAnsari said in the Qatari capital Doha that the Palestinians were expected to be released from Israeli prison. “We all hope that this ceasefire provides an opportunity to begin broader work to achieve a lasting ceasefire.”
Hamas confirmed on its Telegram channel that all hostilities by its forces would cease.
Qatar and Egypt monitor compliance with the agreement
Qatar said an operations center in Doha would monitor the ceasefire and the release of hostages, and that it maintained direct communication links with Israel, Hamas’s political office in Doha and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Egypt, which is also participating in the mediation, has received lists of hostages and prisoners who need to be released and called on both sides to respect the agreement, Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt’s state intelligence service, said in a statement.
Israeli relatives of kidnapped people say they still do not know the fate of the hostages. “We need to know whether they are alive, whether they are OK. This is the minimum,” said Gilad Korngold, who is seeking information about the fate of seven members of his family, including possibly his 3yearold granddaughter among the hostages.
Israeli tanks leave Gaza after ceasefire with Hamas begins
On October 7, gunmen from the terrorist group Hamas crossed the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing around 240 people, according to Israeli statements.
On the same day, Israel declared war on Hamas and began attacking the Gaza Strip. According to Hamasaffiliated Palestinian health authorities, around 13,000 Gazans have been killed by Israeli bombings, around 40% of them children (these figures have not been independently verified).
Palestinian health services said it had become increasingly difficult to keep counts up to date as health services were impacted by Israeli bombings.
Ceasefire agreement could be extended
International mediators want to turn the ceasefire agreement into a longer break in the war, but both Israel and Hamas have already said they will return to fighting.
Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, released a video message on Thursday. He said the ceasefire was temporary and called for an “escalation of confrontation (with Israel) on all fronts of resistance,” including in the West Bank, where violence has increased since the war in Gaza began.
Fierce fighting before ceasefire
Before the ceasefire, fighting was even fiercer than normal. Israeli fighter jets struck more than 300 targets and troops were involved in fighting around Jabalia, north of Gaza City.
An army spokesman said operations would continue until troops were ordered to stop. Clouds of smoke could be seen over the border fence in Israel hanging over the war zone in the northern Gaza Strip, accompanied by heavy gunfire and thunderous explosions.
Israel says Hamas militants are using residential buildings and other civilian buildings, including hospitals, as cover. Hamas denies this.
Palestinian media reported that at least 15 people were killed in airstrikes in Khan Younis, the capital in southern Gaza. The Portal news agency could not independently verify the death toll.