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Hamas has released 24 hostages who had been held in the Gaza Strip as Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners, the first such exchange in more than six weeks of war as a truce between the militant group and Israel took hold.
The captives set free by Hamas included 13 Israeli women and children, among them a two-year-old boy and five-year-old girl. Israel’s military said on Friday they had reached Israel after crossing into Egypt from Gaza.
Ten Thai nationals and one Filipino were also released by the militant group, Qatar’s foreign ministry said. The country, which mediated the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas, added that 39 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children, had been released.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video on Friday evening: “We have now completed the return of the first of our abductees. Children, their mothers and other women. Each and every one of them is a whole world.”
He added: “We are committed to the return of all our abductees. This is one of the goals of the war, and we are committed to achieving all the goals of the war.”
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and fighting on the ground also ceased as the pause in hostilities that began on Friday morning took hold. It was due to last for four days if Israel and Hamas continue to fulfil the conditions of the deal.
“We are relieved to confirm the safe release of 24 hostages,” said the International Committee of the Red Cross, to which the captives were initially transferred in Gaza.
“It’s a tremendous relief that after enduring weeks of distress, they can finally reunite with their families.”
The Israel Defense Forces said the Israeli former hostages were with military and intelligence personnel. They “underwent an initial medical assessment inside Israeli territory. They will continue to be accompanied by . . . soldiers as they make their way to Israeli hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families,” the IDF said.
Six of the freed Israeli hostages were women over the age of 70, according to a list provided by the prime minister’s office. Yafa Adar, seen on video being taken to Gaza by militants in a golf cart on October 7, is the eldest in the group at 85 years old.
Family groupings were also among the freed captives, including mother and daughter Danielle and Emilia Aloni, as well as three members of the Monder family and three members of the Asher family. A total of four children aged nine and under were released. The youngest released on Friday, Aviv Asher, is two years old.
The halt to hostilities was the first since Hamas triggered the war with its devastating attack on Israel on October 7.
The ceasefire set the stage for what is due to become the staggered release of 50 women and children held by Hamas and 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Dozens of Thai workers were also seized by the militant group alongside Israelis, dual nationals and others on October 7, with a total of about 240 people taken captive, according to Israeli officials.
Ahead of Friday’s releases, four other hostages were unilaterally released by Hamas and one rescued by Israeli forces. One, 19-year-old soldier Noa Marciano, was confirmed to have died while she was held hostage, while the body of another, Yehudit Weiss, was found in Gaza.
The release of the Thais had not previously been announced and was “outside the framework of the humanitarian pause”, Qatar said.
Under the deal both sides must abide by a sequence of events, with Israel allowing aid deliveries, Hamas releasing hostages and Israel in turn releasing prisoners, a person familiar with the situation said. This sequence must be repeated each day for the ceasefire to hold.
Four tankers of fuel and cooking gas entered Gaza earlier on Friday under the terms of the truce.
Netanyahu said ahead of the truce taking effect that Israel would continue the war after the pause was over.
About 1,200 people were killed in Israel during Hamas’s assault on October 7, Israeli officials have said. Some 13,300 people have died in Israel’s bombardment and ground incursion into Gaza since then, according to officials in the Hamas-controlled strip, while 1.7mn people have been displaced.
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