Gaza deal: First Gaza hostages free – Israel releases prisoners

After the release of three Israeli hostages by the Islamist Hamas, Israel released 90 Palestinians from custody overnight in accordance with the Gaza agreement. This was announced by the Israeli prison authorities. Most of them are said to be women and minors. The day before, a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip came into force in the morning after more than 15 months of war.

While the female hostages Romi Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28) and Doron Steinbrecher (31) are reunited with their families, local security forces say increased aid deliveries are underway in the largely destroyed Gaza Strip for the population, whose situation remains catastrophic.

The ceasefire will initially last for six weeks. In the first of three phases of an agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the USA, 1,904 Palestinian prisoners are to be released in exchange for 33 of a total of 94 hostages. However, whether a permanent end to the fighting can be achieved depends on further negotiations, which are scheduled to begin in just over two weeks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already threatened that if no agreement was reached, the fighting could continue.

Emotional scenes in Israel

Among the abductees still being held in the Gaza Strip are Israelis who also have German citizenship. According to reports, the next release of hostages will take place next Saturday. According to a Hamas representative, four hostages will be released.

A two-minute long video released by Israel’s government shows the extremely emotional reunion of the three released young women with their relatives: there were warm hugs, tears flowed, sobs and cheers could be heard. The released women are examined in a hospital and given psychological care.

Terrorists kidnapped the three during the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023 and have held them in Gaza since then. Damari lost two fingers during the kidnapping, several Israeli media outlets reported, citing her family. The woman’s bandaged hand could also be seen in pictures.

Hamas distributes propaganda video

The military wing of Hamas distributed a propaganda video of the release of the three young women, which was viewed as very cynical in Israel. The video shows the Israeli women sitting in a vehicle and smiling before they are handed over. Around their necks they wear ribbons with the inscription “Palestine” in the colors of the Palestinian flag. They are given bags with “souvenirs” of their stay in Gaza.

When the vehicles are handed over to the Red Cross, they are surrounded by armed Hamas fighters and a dense crowd chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great). Hostages released during a previous ceasefire reported finding the moment of handover – surrounded by a huge crowd – extremely frightening.

During the night, the Palestinian prisoners who were released in return returned to their hometowns in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Videos on social media showed people near Ramallah cheering as the white buses arrived. Israel reportedly wanted to stop celebrations after prisoners were released.

WHO: There is still a risk of famine

Meanwhile, in the heavily devastated Gaza Strip, the suffering people spent the first night in more than a year in which the guns were silent. As part of the ceasefire, the Israeli army must withdraw from the population centers of the sealed-off coastal strip. Large parts lie in rubble and ashes. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 46,900 people were killed. She does not say how many of them are civilians and how many are fighters.

According to Arab media reports, the first 200 trucks were on their way to the area after the ceasefire began. The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners want to try to make parts of the health system functional again during the ceasefire. Only half of the hospitals in Gaza are partially operational, it was said. Almost all clinics were destroyed or damaged. “The transmission of infectious diseases has increased massively, malnutrition is increasing and the risk of famine remains,” it said.

The most difficult questions are still unresolved

The coming negotiations will focus on the biggest points of contention that have so far been ignored. Hamas is demanding the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the coastal strip and a guarantee that the fighting will permanently end. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, on the other hand, insists on destroying Hamas. A stumbling block could be the question of which prisoners Israel should release in a second phase in exchange for the remaining hostages. 34 of the hostages in Gaza are believed to be already dead.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned of a premature collapse of the ceasefire. “We saw the pictures from Gaza today. Hamas is still in power in Gaza,” he said in an interview with the US broadcaster CNN. “It’s not automatic to move from one phase to the next.” Hamas should no longer rule in Gaza, he said. Hamas said it was committed to adhering to the ceasefire. Their spokesman Abu Obaida said the mediators must force Israel to do the same.