Hostage release begins after ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
This are at least 240 people currently being held hostage by terrorists in Gaza.
First hostages released by Hamas (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
The first group of hostages kidnapped by Hamas has been released. According to the Qatari government, a key player in the negotiations, a total of 24 hostages were released, including 13 Israelis, 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that releasing the citizens is one of Israel's objectives.
Initially, the Thai Foreign Ministry stated that Hamas had released 12 Thai citizens, a figure that was corrected as the hours went by.
"The return of all the abductees is one of the objectives of the war ... and we are committed to achieving this," he assured.
President Joe Biden also welcomed the release of the hostages. However, when asked when the terrorists will release the first group of American citizens, he noted that he does not know who will be the next people to be released.
"Today's release are the start of a process. We expect more hostages to be released tomorrow. And more the day after and more the day after that. Over the next few days we expect that dozens of hostages will be returned to their families," Biden said during a press conference.
Terrorists in Gaza are holding at least 240 hostages since Oct. 7, when 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists killed 1,200 people in southern Israel.
The four-day truce between Israel and Hamas went into effect Thursday morning. The first trucks full of supplies, gas and fuel made their way into the Gaza Strip at the break of dawn. This was one of the conditions of the ceasefire. The terrorists agreed to release the hostages as part of the negotiations.
Israel also released 39 Palestinians, per the terms of the agreement. Various media outlets reported this on social media.
In the meantime, the Israeli government published a list of the names of the released citizens:
Katz family
- Doron Katz-Asher (34 years old)
- Raz Asher (4)
- Aviv Asher (2)
Aloni family
- Daniel Aloni (45)
- Emilia Aloni (5)
Mundar family
-Ruth Mundar (78)
- Keren Mundar (54)
- Ohad Mundar (9)
Other people
-Adina Moshe (72)
-Hannah Katzir (76)
-Margalit Mozes (77)
-Hannah Peri (79)
-Yaffa Adar (85)
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