A roughly one minute video was circulated on X showing that the first group of hostages held by Hamas were released to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Friday afternoon local time.
The hostages were reportedly carried in Red Cross ambulances passing through the Rafah border crossing bound for Israel via Egypt after 49 days in captivity. If the deal continues without any escalation in the conflict, an additional 37 Israelis are expected to be released over the coming days as a cease-fire holds and humanitarian aid enters the Gaza Strip.
In exchange, Israel had agreed to release 150 Palestinian prisoners, all of whom are women and minors, currently being held on various levels of terror-related criminal offenses. Thirty-nine Palestinians are expected to be returned on the first day of the deal. A crowd waiting outside the Ofer prison in the West Bank to greet those released in the first tranche of the agreement were reportedly tear-gassed by Israeli security forces.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, based in Qatar, vowed to uphold the deal, underscoring the terrorist group’s war aims. “Hamas will pursue its effort to halt the Israeli assault on Gaza, complete the prisoner exchange, end the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and ‘attack’ on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in addition to enabling the Palestinian people to realize their legitimate national right for an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, self-determination, and the return” of Palestinian refugees.
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