Three Israeli hostages were freed on Sunday, marking the starting phase of a long-anticipated ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. This release is part of the first stage of the deal, during which Hamas is expected to release a total of 33 hostages.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Authority (ISA) announced the transfer process began shortly after 5:30 pm local time. Both IDF special forces and ISA personnel are accompanying the freed individuals back to Israeli territory, where they will receive immediate medical assessments, according to the joint statement.
"The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the released hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel," the statement declared.
The hostages identified as released are Romi Gonen, 24, Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and Emily Damari, 28. The first phase of the ceasefire will see 33 hostages released over a six-week period. This includes women, children, and hostages over 50 years old, a draft viewed by CBS News said.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced earlier that the ceasefire would not begin until Hamas provided the names, which have since been provided and nearly caused delays. The Palestinian terrorist group had agreed to produce a list of hostages 24 hours before their release.After Netanyahu's announcement, Hamas released a statement blaming technical issues for the delay and reaffirming its commitment to the ceasefire. The terrorist group was supposed to submit the list Saturday night. According to the outlet, Hamas told mediators that it would hand over the names of the hostages as soon as they had been transferred to a safe place and it is expected that three female soldiers will be released.
A Hamas source told Ynet that "communication between [Hamas] operatives is done physically by messengers, and it takes them time to agree on the names and location of the hostages while IDF jets are still overhead," adding that "The list will only be released after approval from Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar."
On the seventh day of the ceasefire agreement, four more hostages were scheduled to be released, and this cycle was to continue weekly for the next six weeks until 33 of the hostages were released. The hostages were being exchanged for 1,904 terrorists.
CBS News reported that "In phase one, Israel will release at least 1,700 Palestinian prisoners, including 1,167 Gaza residents who were not involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war. All women and children under 19 from Gaza held by Israel will be freed during this phase."
