Hamas releases first batch of Israeli hostages

Hamas has released the first seven of the 20 surviving Israeli hostages to representatives of the Red Cross in Gaza, bringing a wave of relief and celebration in Tel Aviv, where large crowds gathered in solidarity with the families of the captives.

The handover marks the initial phase of a broader prisoner exchange agreement mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump, which formally ended two years of intense conflict between Israel and Hamas.

According to the terms of the ceasefire deal, all surviving hostages are expected to be freed on Monday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention facilities.

The releases coincided with President Trump’s arrival in the region for a high-level peace summit, where he reaffirmed that the long-standing war between the two sides is now “over.”

“According to information provided by the Red Cross, seven hostages have been transferred into their custody, and are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli military and security service said.

“The IDF is prepared to receive additional hostages who are expected to be transferred to the Red Cross later on.”

In Tel Aviv, hundreds of people gathered on Hostages Square and erupted in joy as news broke of the first releases.

Among them, Noga shared her pain and joy with AFP.

“I’m torn between emotion and sadness for those who won’t be coming back,” she said.

On October 7, 2023, militants seized 251 hostages during Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel, which led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians.

All but 47 of the hostages were freed in earlier truces, with the families of those that have remained in captivity leading lives of constant pain and worry for their loved ones.

In Gaza, too, the ceasefire has brought relief, but with much of the territory flattened by war, the road to recovery remains long.

“I returned to Sheikh Radwan with my heart trembling,” 38-year-old Fatima Salem told AFP after she returned to her neighbourhood in Gaza City.

“My eyes kept searching for landmarks I had lost nothing looked the same, even the neighbours’ houses were gone.

“Despite the exhaustion and fear, I felt like I was coming back to my safe place. I missed the smell of my home, even if it’s now just rubble. We will pitch a tent next to it and wait for reconstruction.”

– ‘War is over. Okay?’ –

Trump’s lightning visit to Israel and Egypt aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week’s ceasefire and hostage release deal but comes at a precarious time as Israel and Hamas negotiate what comes next.

Under the US president’s proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian militants have handed over the surviving hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange.

Israel expects all 20 living hostages to be released to the Red Cross “early Monday morning”, according to a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One at the start of the “very special” visit, Trump brushed off concerns about whether the ceasefire would endure.

“I think it’s going to hold. I think people are tired of it. It’s been centuries,” he said of the fighting.

“The war is over. Okay? You understand that?” the US president added.

In Israel, Trump is due to meet the families of hostages before addressing the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem.

– Final details –

His trip is partly a victory lap over the Gaza deal he helped broker with a 20-point peace plan announced in late September.

“Everybody’s very excited about this moment in time,” Trump said earlier as he prepared to board the plane at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.

Negotiators were still wrangling late Sunday over the final arrangements for the exchanges, with two Hamas sources telling AFP the group was insisting that Israel include seven senior Palestinian leaders on the list of those to be released.

Israel has previously rejected at least one of those names.

The sources said the group and its allies had nevertheless “completed all preparations” for handing over to Israel all the living hostages.

Israel does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday.

Under the plan, Hamas is to hand over the remaining 47 hostages, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza war.

Among the prisoners to be released, 250 are security detainees, including many convicted of killing Israelis, while about 1,700 were detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during the war.

– Peace summit –

After visiting Israel, Trump will head to Egypt where he and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of more than 20 world leaders to back his plan to end the Gaza war and promote Middle East peace.

Trump will be looking to resolve some of the huge uncertainty around the next phases of the peace plan including Hamas’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s failure to pledge a full withdrawal from the devastated territory.

Trump insisted he had “guarantees” from both sides and other key regional players about the initial phase of the deal, and the future stages.

Trump also said he would be “proud” to visit Gaza itself, but did not say when such a difficult security challenge would be possible.

A new governing body for devastated Gaza which Trump himself would head under his own plan would be established “very quickly,” he added.

Under the plan, as Israel conducts a partial withdrawal from Gaza, it will be replaced by a multi-national force coordinated by a US-led command centre in Israel.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,806 people, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers credible.

The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

(AFP)