In the first glimmer of hope since the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, two dozen hostages who had been held captive in Gaza including 13 Israelis, ten people from Thailand, and a Filipino citizen, have been successfully released in the first stage in a swap for Palestinians prisoners in Israel under a four-day cease-fire deal according to The Associated Press.
The prime minister’s office in Israel released a list of 13 hostages freed on Friday:
- Margalit Mozes
- Adina Moshe
- Daniel Aloni
- Emilia Aloni
- Yafa Adar
- Ohad Munder
- Keren Munder
- Ruth Munder
- Aviv Asher
- Raz Asher
- Doron Katz Asher
- Hana Katzir
- Channa Peri
In exchange, Israel was set to release 39 Palestinians, comprising 24 women and 15 teenage males, detained for a range of alleged offenses ranging from attempted murder to throwing stones, according to NBC News.
Brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, the tentative deal is to release at least 50 hostages held by Hamas. In return, Israel will free 150 Palestinian prisoners. A senior White House official confirmed that no Americans were expected to be part of the first group.
But with more than 200 hostages remaining, only a small percentage of families will be reunited under the fragile agreement. However, Israel has said it will extend the truce one day for every ten hostages freed.
This is a breaking news story.
Terry Moseley
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