Gaza war
Army: Group of Gaza hostages handed over to Red Cross
People cheer after a helicopter carrying hostages released by Hamas terrorists landed at Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel. photo
© Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
They were abducted on October 7th during an unprecedented massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas. Now a third group of hostages in the Gaza Strip are being released.
As part of the ceasefire in During the Gaza war, the Islamist Hamas handed over another group of hostages to the Red Cross. The Israeli army said 14 Israelis and three foreigners are now in the care of ICRC staff.
The military wing of the Islamist Hamas wrote on Telegram that 13 Israelis, three Thais and one Russian citizen had been released. According to Israeli television, the Israelis were nine children and four women.
In return, for every hostage released, three Palestinian prisoners should be released from Israeli custody today. It was the third group of hostages to be released since the ceasefire began on Friday. Among those released so far were eight German dual citizens. In return, 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons on Friday and Saturday.
Dozens still in Hamas hands
However, dozens of hostages are still in the hands of Hamas. The currently ongoing break in fighting is expected to last at least until Tuesday morning. According to the agreement between Israel and Hamas, a total of 50 Israeli hostages will initially be released during this time. In addition, 14 Thais and one Filipino citizen, among others, had already been released.
An extension of the ceasefire to up to ten days and further releases should be possible, as the Gulf Emirate of Qatar, which is mediating in the conflict, announced.
The latest Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, which terrorists from the Gaza Strip committed in Israel near the border on October 7th. More than 1,200 people were killed. Around 240 hostages were taken to Gaza, including several Germans.
Israel responded with massive airstrikes, a blockade of the Gaza Strip and began a ground offensive in late October. According to the Islamist Hamas, almost 15,000 people were killed. More than 36,000 were injured. The numbers cannot currently be independently verified.