Hamas has released the first group of hostages after 48 days of captivity in Gaza. This is part ofthe truce deal between Israel and Hamas that went into effect this morning.
Thirteen Israeli women and children and 12 Thai hostages were finally freed today after an agonising wait. Recall that they were kidnapped and taken into Gaza by the terror group in its October 7 attack on Israel. Israeli television reported that Hamas had transferred the hostages to the Red Cross. They were on their way to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Going the other way were 39 Palestinian prisoners — 24 women and 15 teenagers. Israel is releasing them as part of the deal that paused the fighting in the Gaza Strip for the first time in seven weeks.
The release will be coordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC. ICRC first received the hostages from Gaza to give medical care.
However, the lists of all civilians that would be released from Gaza had been agreed upon but were not released publicly ahead of time. Some 30 children are currently believed to be among the 240 captives taken into Gaza by Hamas.
The fragile four-day truce began at 7 a.m. local time (12a.m. ET and 5 a.m. GMT). Guns were laid down across the region for the first time in almost seven weeks.
Meanwhile, over the four days of the ceasefire, at least 50 hostages are expected to be freed. This would leave an estimated 190 in the hands of Palestinian militants.
In exchange, 150 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released.
