The Israeli military said the Red Cross had confirmed the handover of three hostages on Sunday, the first to be released as part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
“The Red Cross has communicated that the three Israeli hostages were transferred to them and are on their way toward IDF (military) and ISA (security agency) forces in the Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement.
A Hamas official moments earlier told AFP that the hostages had been handed over to the Red Cross at Al-Saraya Square in western Gaza City.
“The three released hostages are being accompanied by IDF special forces and ISA forces on their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment”, the military added.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group had identified the three women set to be released as Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.
Romi Gonen, from northern Israel, was among dozens captured when Hamas fighters ambushed the Supernova rave festival and killed 364 people on October 7, 2023. During the attack, from which she attempted to flee by car, Gonen phoned her mother Merav Leshem Gonen, who tried to comfort her above the din of explosions. The car was later found empty and Romi’s phone was traced to Gaza.
Emily Damari, whose father is Israeli, was born in Israel after her British mother, Mandy, moved there. She grew up in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz community near Israel’s southern border with Gaza. Damari was at home there when Hamas gunmen stormed her house, injuring her hands and legs in the process.
Doron Steinbrecher, a veterinary nurse was also kidnapped from Kfar Aza. On the day of the attack, Steinbrecher left a message for her parents telling them she had been abducted. An Israeli-Romanian dual national, she appeared with two other hostages in a video released by Hamas in January, 2024.
The militant group Hamas said on Sunday it was awaiting a list of 90 prisoners to be released by Israel as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange on the first day of the Gaza ceasefire.
“The occupation is expected to hand over shortly a list containing the names of 90 prisoners from the categories of women and children who are set to be released on the first day of the ceasefire,” Hamas said in statement.
Israel and mediating nation Qatar confirmed on Sunday a long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza had come into effect following a delay of almost three hours as Israel awaited a list of three hostages to be initially freed by Hamas.
During this time, Israel’s military stated that it was continuing operations in Gaza, while the territory’s civil defense agency reported 19 people killed and 25 wounded in the ongoing bombardments.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that the death toll in the war between Israel and Hamas had reached 46,913 as of midnight Saturday.
According to the ceasefire plan, a total of 33 hostages taken by militants during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel will be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce.
In its statement, Hamas said the truce deal stipulated “the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one civilian detainee”, adding that the 90 prisoners expected for release Sunday would be drawn from a submitted list of 120 women and children in total.
This is a breaking news story and more information will follow.
