Hamas has finally freed the first of a group of Israeli hostages after initially refusing to let them go.
Qatari and Egyptian mediators said Hamas agreed to release 13 Israelis and seven ‘foreigners’ on Saturday in exchange for 39 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The hostages – six women and seven children – were handed over to the Red Cross and crossed over at the Rafah Crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt at around 9.30pm.
By 10.05pm, the hostages were back on Israeli soil.
A total of 13 Israelis and seven ‘foreigners’ were handed to Red Cross in exchange for 39 Palestinians. Among the hostages released from both sides were 41 children and 11 women.
One of the hostages freed was nine-year-old Irish girl Emily Hand, who was held by Hamas for 50 days, The Irish Times has reported.
Hostages were seen on their way to the Rafah Crossing this evening
Among the hostages released from both sides were 41 children and 11 women
Emily Hand, turned nine-years-old in Hamas captivity on November 17. She was set free on November 25, after 50 days with the terror group, the Irish Times reported
A total of 13 Israelis and seven ‘foreigners’ were handed to Red Cross in exchange for 39 Palestinians
This evening, Qatar ‘s foreign ministry said 13 Israeli hostages will leave Gaza in addition to seven foreign hostages
This is the scene at Ofer Prison in the West Bank, as the wait for hostages to be released continues
Emily, an Irish-Israeli citizen, was kidnapped during Hamas’ invasion of Israel on October 7, in which some 240 captives were taken back into Gaza.
She was among at least 30 children believed to be still held in Gaza.
The terror group claimed earlier on Saturday that Israel had not complied with the deal’s terms and not delivered enough aid to Gaza.
This evening, Qatar‘s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said: ‘After a delay, obstacles to release of prisoners were overcome through Qatari-Egyptian contacts with both sides, and 39 Palestinian civilians will be released tonight, while 13 Israeli hostages will leave Gaza in addition to seven foreigners.’
In a second post, Ansari said the Israelis to be released from Gaza consisted of eight children and five women. Those to be released from Israeli prisons comprised 33 children and six women, the spokesman said.
The IDF confirmed the release was ‘currently underway’ but Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said ‘nothing is finalised until it actually happens’.
Ruth Munder, a released Israeli hostage, walks with an Israeli soldier shortly after her arrival in Israel on Friday
Hamas has said it was delaying the release of a second group of hostages, claiming that Israel had not complied with the deal’s terms and not delivered enough aid to the besieged enclave
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said 196 trucks of aid entered on Friday, and Israel said four fuel trucks and four tanks of gas entered Saturday
The hostages have been handed over to the Red Cross and are on their way to the Rafah Crossing in the Gaza Strip
Tens of thousands of Israelis have amassed in Tel Aviv as the country waits for the return of a second group of hostages
People attend a rally organized by the Bring Them Home Now association to support families of kidnapped people and to call for release of hostages, in Tel Aviv
A number of Palestinians were also reportedly injured as a result of gunfire from Israeli forces as they waited for the release of their relatives as part of the exchange agreement near Ofer Prison in Ramallah, West Bank, this evening.
On the first day of the four-day ceasefire, Hamas released 24 of the roughly 240 hostages taken during its October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison.
Those freed in Gaza were 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and a Filipino.
Hamas has handed over a second group of Israeli hostages, AFP reports
The hostages have been held captive since they were abducted by Hamas during the October 7 terror massacre
The truce between Israel and Hamas has so far held. Pictured: People gathering on the Rafah border crossing where aid trucks are expected to be passing once the handover begins
On Saturday, Hamas provided mediators Egypt and Qatar with a list of 14 hostages to be released, and it has been passed to Israel, according to a Egyptian official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to talk about details of the ongoing negotiations.
However, terror group Hamas then said it was delaying the release of a second group of hostages, claiming that Israel had not complied with the deal’s terms and not delivered enough aid to Gaza.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said 196 trucks of aid entered on Friday, and Israel said four fuel trucks and four tanks of gas entered Saturday.
Relatives, friends and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel, take part in a protest asking for their release in Tel Aviv on November 25
Thousands of people and the families of hostages hold up their mobile phones with the torch on in Tel Aviv to sing the Israeli national anthem
A woman holds a flag of Israel and a portrait of 13-year-old Alma, held hostage in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists
A young Israeli holds a portrait of 56-year-old Gelerenter Itzhak, held hostage in Gaza since the October 7 attack
Earlier an Israeli military spokesperson had told France’s BFM television station that, barring last minute changes, 13 Israeli hostages were expected to be freed
Israeli families are preparing to greet their relatives who are due to be released later today
Empty chairs represent the people who were abducted by Hamas more than a month ago
A total of 50 Israeli hostages are to be freed by Hamas in staggered releases over the four-day truce in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel has said the truce can be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed – something US President Joe Biden said he hoped would occur.
Separately, a Qatari delegation arrived in Israel on Saturday to coordinate with parties on the ground and ‘ensure the deal continues to move smoothly’, according to a diplomat briefed on the visit.
This is the emotional moment a father reunited with his wife and two young daughters after they spent 49 days being held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza
Aviv Asher, two, her sister Raz, four and mother Doron, step off an Israeli military helicopter
The two girls were holding toys as they held tightly in their parent’s arms on the hospital bed, after being checked over by doctors
A pair of female IDF soldiers comfort Raz, four, and Aviv, two, following their release
An Israeli soldier sits with Raz as she sits down to eat shortly after the youngster was freed
The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss details with the media.
The start of the pause brought the first quiet for 2.3 million Palestinians reeling from relentless Israeli bombardment that has killed thousands, driven three-quarters of the population from their homes and levelled residential areas.
Rocket fire from Gaza militants into Israel went silent.
For the first time in more than a month, aid reached northern Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 61 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies headed there on Saturday, the largest aid convoy to reach the area yet.
Ofer Prison this evening as three Palestinians, waiting for the release of their relatives as part of the exchange agreement, were injured as a result of gunfire opened by Israeli forces in Ramallah, West Bank
Health officers carry injured Palestinians as a result of gunfire opened by Israeli forces
An injured person was carried on a stretcher into an ambulance this evening
Medics carry a Palestinian man injured during clashes with Israeli security forces outside the Israeli Ofer military facility
Ohad Munder and his mother Keren (left) travel in an Israeli military helicopter en route to the Schneider Children’s Medical Center
Nine-year-old Ohad Monder meets his father, his brother and family members at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center, in Israel today
Ohad and his older brother warmly hug after being reunited following his release on Friday
Hundreds of relatives gathered in Tel Aviv awaiting news of their loved ones
Families hope a last minute glitch in the release will be resolved allowing 14 people to be returned to Israel this evening
The UN said it and the Palestinian Red Crescent were also able to evacuate 40 patients and family members from a hospital in Gaza City, where much of the fighting has taken place, to a hospital in Khan Younis.
Until Saturday afternoon, it still appeared everything was going according to plan. Aid trucks were entering Gaza, Hamas handed a list of more than a dozen hostages slated for release to mediators Qatar and Egypt, and Israel’s Prison Service prepared a list of dozens of Palestinian prisoners for release.
But by nightfall, as the hostages should have emerged from Gaza, Hamas announced that it was delaying the release over what it said were Israeli truce violations.
The group alleged the aid deliveries permitted by Israel fell short of what was promised, and that not enough of the aid was reaching northern Gaza – the focus of Israel’s ground offensive and the main combat zone.
Hamas also said not enough veteran prisoners were freed in the first swap on Friday.
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, said earlier in Beirut: ‘This is putting the deal in danger and we have spoken to mediators about that.’
In Tel Aviv, several thousand people packed a central square called ‘the square of the hostages,’ awaiting news of the second release.
‘Don’t forget the others because it’s getting harder, harder and harder. It’s heartbreaking,’ said Neri Gershon, a Tel Aviv resident.
Saturday’s setback came just hours after Egypt, which controls the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza through which vital aid supplies have resumed, said it had received ‘positive signals’ from all parties over a possible extension of that deal.
Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS), said in a statement that Cairo was holding extensive talks with all parties to reach an agreement which would mean ‘the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.’
Israel has said the ceasefire could be extended if Hamas continues to release hostages at a rate of at least 10 per day. A Palestinian source has said up to 100 hostages could go free.
Israel and Hamas have said hostilities would resume as soon as the truce ends, although US President Joe Biden said on Friday there was a real chance of extending the truce.