The Israeli military announced that eight hostages, including three Israelis and five Thai nationals, were released on Thursday as part of a hostage and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas stipulated in the ceasefire agreement to end the 15-month war in Gaza.
Israeli soldier Agam Berger surrendered to the Red Cross in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, from where she went to Israel, where she was reunited with her parents.
"We thank God for this moment and that our heroine Agam was returned to us after 482 days in enemy hands," the family of Private Berger said in a statement. " Now Agami and our family will begin the healing process, but the healing will not be complete without the return of all hostages home."
After several hours, the Red Cross convoy passed through a crowd of people and a chaotic scene in the southern city of Khan Younis as it handed over two more Israeli hostages, as well as the Thai national, to the Israeli army, A2 reports.
Their release was delayed after armed militants had difficulty holding back crowds of Palestinians who had surrounded the Red Cross vehicles. The hostages then managed to make their way through the crowd, surrounded by gunmen.
“I am watching with anguish the shocking images during the release of our hostages ,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office shortly after the exchange. He said he was “asking the mediators to ensure that such horrific scenes do not happen again and that the safety of the hostages is guaranteed.”
The Israeli military confirmed that the group of hostages had crossed into Israeli territory. The freed hostages were identified as Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Moses and the Thai nationals as Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakhan, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat and Rumnao Surasak.
The military announced that the Israelis would be reunited with their families, while Thai government officials would meet with their citizens.
During the day, under the ceasefire agreement, Israel is expected to release 110 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 sentenced to life imprisonment for bloody attacks on Israelis.
Under the ceasefire agreement, more than 423,000 Palestinians have returned to the northern Gaza Strip in the past three days. They were among those displaced by the Israeli army at the start of the war in October 2023. However, their return was met with mixed feelings, as almost every one of them has relatives or friends who were killed during the war and many of the neighborhoods in this part of Gaza have been destroyed in the fighting.
So far, seven hostages being held by militants in Gaza have been released in exchange for 300 Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel.
Hamas is expected to release three more hostages on Saturday, while Israel is expected to release dozens of other Palestinian prisoners.
The first phase of the ceasefire lasts 42 days and a quarter of it has already passed. During this phase, it is envisaged that the 33 hostages being held in Gaza will be released, as well as negotiations to discuss the details of the second phase, which includes the release of other hostages, an end to the conflict and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
These negotiations are expected to begin next week.
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Wednesday to underscore US support for the ceasefire.
Witkoff, who played a key role in reaching the six-week ceasefire agreement, also visited the Netzarim Corridor, a 6-kilometer-wide stretch of territory that divides the Gaza Strip in two, where American security contractors help oversee the return of displaced Palestinians.
Witkoff is the highest-ranking US official to visit Gaza in years. US officials have avoided visiting Gaza, a strip of territory along the Mediterranean Sea, due to security concerns and Washington's policy of barring contact with Hamas, the militant group that the US government has designated a terrorist organisation.
Netanyahu will travel to Washington this week. US President Donald Trump has invited him for talks at the White House on Tuesday. It will be Mr. Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader in his second term as president.
Meanwhile, during the ceasefire in Gaza, Israel has increased military operations in the occupied West Bank. Defense Minister Israel Katz said during a visit to Jenin on Wednesday that Israel has “declared war on Palestinian terrorism” in the West Bank.
"The Jenin refugee camp will never return to its previous state," he declared. "After the operation is over, the Israeli army will remain here to ensure that terrorism does not return."
The Gaza War began with Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 250 hostages.
Israel's counteroffensive in Gaza has killed at least 47,400 people, most of them women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry. The Israeli ministry says that figure includes 17,000 militants./ Voice of America (A2 Televizion)
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