The relatives of the thirteen Israeli hostages that Hamas freed have expressed their relief upon their homecoming.
The group, which includes little children and old people, was transported from Gaza into Egypt by the Red Cross and is now back in Israel.
Not long afterward, the West Bank’s Beitunia checkpoint saw the release of 39 Palestinian captives.
In a separate agreement from the one mediated by Qatar, Hamas also released ten Thai nationals and one Filipino.
A brief halt to hostilities is scheduled to coincide with the release of 150 Palestinian inmates and 50 Israeli hostages over the course of four days, as per the conditions of the Qatar agreement.
After being examined medically at an Egyptian hospital, the hostages whom Hamas freed on Friday were returned to Israel.
The Israelis consist of an 85-year-old woman and four children, ages two, four, six, and nine.
“The first of our captives has now been fully returned. Mothers, other women, and children. “Every single one of them is a world,” stated Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel.
“But I emphasise to you – the families, and to you – the citizens of Israel: We are committed to the return of all our hostages.”
Doron Katz Asher, 34, the wife of Yoni Asher, and their two kids, Raz, 4, and Aviv, 2, are no longer in custody.
“I am determined to bring about the resurrection of my family from the trauma and the terrible bereavement we went through,” Mr. Asher stated to the BBC.
“I don’t celebrate, I won’t celebrate until the last of the kidnapped returns,” he stated.
“The families of the kidnapped are not posters, they are not slogans, they are real people, and the families of the kidnapped are from today my new family, and I will make sure and do everything that the last of the kidnapped comes home.”
Of those released by Hamas was also 78-year-old Margalit Moses. A cancer survivor, on October 7th, Hamas abducted her from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
As part of the agreement, Daniele Aloni and her six-year-old daughter Emilia were also set free. On October 7, while visiting family in Kibbutz Nir Oz, they were abducted.
Daniele wrote her family a final note during the attacks, in which she stated that “there were terrorists in their house” and expressed fear for their lives.
Following the liberation of three of his family members, Itay Ravi, whose 78-year-old uncle Avraham is still in prison, said, “this is one step towards being happy.”
From Nir Oz, his aunt Ruthi Munder, 78, her son Ohad Munder-Zichri, 9, and his cousin Keren Munder, 54, were abducted.
“It’s so thrilling that they are now travelling to Israeli hospitals and families. We can’t be entirely content, though,” he said to BBC Newsnight.
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“We still live in a very, very horrific reality,” Mr. Ravi continued.
Ohad, confined in Gaza, turned nine years old.
“The only celebration that we’re going to have soon is [for] Ohad’s ninth birthday,” Ravi stated.
“Once he adjusts to his new situation, we’re going to throw him a huge celebration with all of our friends and family. We’ll see how he recovers.I’m not sure how a nine-year-old who has been held captive by a terrorist group for fifty days returns. I’m hoping he succeeds.”
As part of the swap, 39 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails have been freed.
They face charges ranging from stone-throwing to attempted murder. While some were awaiting trial, others had already been found guilty of crimes.
When the group of 24 ladies and 15 teenage boys crossed the occupied West Bank’s Beituniya checkpoint, they were met with cheering crowds.
Marah Bakeer was one of the liberated Palestinian prisoners. She was 16 when she was caught in 2015 and received an eight and a half year prison sentence for attacking a border police officer with a knife.
“This deal comes following the death of many people and this makes us unhappy and uncomfortable,” Baker said to waiting press.
She claimed she had “no idea what was happening outside, no idea about the situation in Gaza” and that she was held in solitary confinement.
“The news of the deal was a surprise,” she stated.
Israel prepared a list of 300 women and adolescents from whom the inmates were selected.
The bulk of individuals on the list are being imprisoned on remand while they await trial; less than 25% of them have been found guilty. 40% of people on the list are under the age of 18, making teenage boys the majority. Along with 32 women, there is also one teenage girl.
On October 7, 1,200 people were killed in a cross-border raid on southern Israel by Hamas, during which more than 200 captives were taken prisoner.
Human rights organisations report that after the October 7 attacks, the number of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails without being charged has skyrocketed.
Since the combat stopped, at least 60 relief trucks have driven into Gaza; according to Israel, eight of these trucks are carrying fuel, which is part of the 130,000 litres that will be given every day of the truce.
Israel has advised Palestinians who have been displaced in the south not to attempt to return home, claiming that the north is a combat zone even though it is thought that thousands of residents still reside there, despite the four-day truce agreement suggesting that all areas should be accessible to humanitarian organisations.
BBC
