A fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was holding yesterday, following the dramatic exchange of three hostages for 90 Palestinian prisoners in an agreement aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in Gaza.
The three hostages released on Sunday, all women, were reunited with their families and taken to hospital in central Israel where a doctor said they were in stable condition.
Hours later in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian prisoners released by Israel left Ofer prison on buses, with jubilant crowds celebrating their arrival.
Photo: Reuters
As the ceasefire took effect, thousands of displaced, war-weary Palestinians set off across the devastated Gaza Strip to return home.
If all goes according to plan, the implementation of the truce would take weeks if not months, with only the first phase of the truce agreed so far by all the parties.
Despite the risks, hundreds of Palestinians were streaming through an apocalyptic landscape in Jabalia in northern Gaza, one of the worst-hit areas in the war.
Photo: Reuters
“We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it’s our home,” said Rana Mohsen, 43.
The initial 42-day truce was brokered by mediators Qatar, the US and Egypt. It should enable a surge of sorely needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, as more Israeli hostages are released in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.
Under the agreement, Israeli forces should leave some areas of Gaza as the parties begin negotiating the terms of a permanent ceasefire.
During the initial truce, Israeli hostages, 31 of whom were taken by militants during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, are due to be returned from Gaza in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinians.
The first three released hostages — Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher — returned home to Israel after Hamas fighters handed them over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in a bustling square in Gaza City, surrounded by gunmen in fatigues and balaclavas.
“In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back,” Damari’s mother, Mandy, said yesterday, adding that she was “doing much better than any of us could have expected,” even after she had lost two fingers.
Steinbrecher’s family said in a statement that “our heroic Dodo, who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, begins her rehabilitation journey today.”
In Tel Aviv, there was elation among the crowd who had waited for hours for the news of their release, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group hailing their return as “a beacon of light.”
Following the return of the three women hostages, the Israel Prison Service confirmed the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners early yesterday.
In the town of Beitunia, near Ofer prison, Palestinians cheered and chanted as buses carrying them arrived, with some climbing atop and unfurling a Hamas flag.
“All the prisoners being released today feel like family to us. They are part of us, even if they’re not blood relatives,” said Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23.
One freed detainee, Abdul Aziz Muhammad Atawneh, described prison as “hell, hell, hell.”
The next hostage-prisoner swap should take place on Saturday, a senior Hamas official said.
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