Hostages were released on the first day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
Israel confirmed on Friday evening (24) that it had received the list of hostages whose release was expected by Hamas this Saturday (25). A sign that the agreement worked on the first day, when the group of Israeli hostages were released by the extremist group Hamas.
The ceasefire began hours before the release of the first group of hostages, consisting of 13 people: nine women and four children. In contrast, 39 Palestinians accused of crimes by Israel walked out of prisons in the country. There are 24 women and 15 children and young people.
1 of 2 A sign that the agreement worked on the first day when the group of Israeli hostages were released by the extremist group Hamas. — Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo A sign that the agreement worked on the first day, when the group of Israeli hostages were released by the extremist group Hamas. — Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo
This was the first of four or five days that will be needed to implement the agreement between Israel and Hamas: 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners (See below for more information).
And in another agreement, the Thai government managed to secure the release of ten hostages of Thai nationality: nine men and one woman. The Philippine government also managed to free one hostage, a man who worked as a caregiver for the elderly.
2 of 2 Israel confirms that it has received a list of hostages to be released by Hamas this Saturday Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo Israel confirms that it has received a list of hostages to be released by Hamas this Saturday should be Photo: Reproduction /TV Globo
How was the first day of the hostage release?
Shortly after 11 a.m. Brazilian time, the 24 people were seen on a Red Cross bus being taken to six hospitals in Israel for an initial medical examination and then meeting their relatives.
Among the hostages released were, as provided for in the agreement, 13 Israeli women and children, but also ten Thai citizens and one Filipino, who were released after parallel negotiations with the governments of these countries.
Thailand is the largest supplier of foreign labor to Israel. According to the Thai government, 40 farm workers in the country were killed and 26 kidnapped in the October 7 Hamas attack.
Almost all of these hostages were on the same kibbutz when they were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. There are nine women between the ages of 37 and 85 and four children between the ages of 2 and 9. The children were released along with their mothers.
“Each of the freed hostages means a whole world. Israel is determined to win them all back. “This is one of the goals of the war,” the Israeli prime minister said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces spokesman, all of the released hostages were in good health and were immediately released by doctors to return to their homes.
In return, Israel last month released 39 Palestinians who had been imprisoned in the country since the start of the war.
International Red Cross vehicles picked up the Palestinians from Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank.
According to a Palestinian Authority commission that released a list of prisoners’ names, there are 24 women, including some convicted of attempted murder for attacks on Israeli forces, and 15 male teenagers convicted of crimes such as throwing Stones were arrested. The majority come from the West Bank cities of Nablus and Ramallah, as well as East Jerusalem. There was a party in Ramallah when the bus arrived.
The agreement with Israel also calls for a fourday ceasefire in the event of attacks. For the first time in seven weeks, no significant bombings in Gaza or rocket attacks on Israel were reported. Even during the ceasefire, the Israeli army advised Palestinians not to return to northern Gaza. But many tried, and soldiers shot at people heading north. Two Palestinians died and eleven were injured.
Aid trucks from Egypt arrived in Rafah. During the ceasefire, 130,000 liters of diesel and four trucks of gasoline will enter Gaza daily, in addition to 200 trucks carrying humanitarian aid per day during the ceasefire.
“There is an expectation that 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. For every Israeli released from captivity in Gaza, three Palestinian prisoners are released, for a total of fifty Israelis and one hundred and fifty Palestinians.