Israeli authorities have confirmed that Hamas handed over the first three female captives as a ceasefire deal for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip took impact.
Israeli navy spokesman Daniel Hagari stated on Sunday night that 24-year-old Romi Gonen, 28-year-old Emily Damari, and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher have been handed over to the Crimson Cross and are “in secure arms” in Israel.
The Crimson Cross autos took off from Gaza Metropolis within the closely besieged northern a part of the enclave after Hamas introduced the captives to as-Saraya Sq. as a crowd gathered.
A Crimson Cross delegation was verifying the identities of 90 Palestinian prisoners forward of their launch from Israel’s Ofer Jail as a part of the ceasefire settlement.
The ceasefire deal is about to roll out in three phases and contains sending in lots of extra humanitarian assist vans into Gaza to alleviate the catastrophe within the enclave. The primary stage will final 42 days as Israeli forces pull out of components of Gaza.
Hamas navy spokesman Abu Obeida stated in a televised speech that the Palestinian group is dedicated to the settlement, however continued implementation will rely on Israel’s reciprocity.
A deal may have been achieved over a 12 months in the past and was blocked by the “malicious ambitions” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he stated.
The Israeli chief has insisted he’ll proceed combating as some far-right legislators in his authorities led by Nationwide Safety Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned in protest. Netanyahu emphasised after the primary captives have been launched that Israel will obtain all of the objectives it has set within the warfare, which embrace “defeating” Hamas and releasing all captives.
The United Nations and world leaders additionally welcomed the ceasefire, with outgoing United States President Joe Biden saying “weapons in Gaza have gone silent”.
Hundreds of Palestinians celebrated the long-anticipated ceasefire that would enhance situations in Gaza, after greater than 15 months of lethal Israeli assaults which have killed greater than 46,000 Palestinians and left 1000’s lacking.
Reporting from as-Saraya Sq., Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim Khalili described scenes of pleasure among the many crowd.
“They’re past completely happy,” he stated. “Celebrations are going down far and wide after 15 months of warfare that destroyed every part. It is a historic second.”
The captives are anticipated to be taken instantly to Israeli forces for identification, then airlifted to a hospital within the central a part of Israel. They are going to stay there for at the very least 4 days for psychological and medical evaluations after being reunited with their households.
The Israeli jail companies, in addition to Israeli forces, have been reporting this week how they’ve been making ready for the discharge of the captives.
About 250 folks have been seized in the course of the Hamas-led assault in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. About 100 captives nonetheless stay in Gaza after others have been launched in late 2023 or their our bodies have been recovered, though it stays unclear precisely what number of are alive.
Al Jazeera obtained the listing of 90 Palestinian prisoners who can be launched in alternate for the three Israeli captives.
All are from the occupied West Financial institution and occupied East Jerusalem, with the listing comprising largely girls and some kids.
The listing contains the title of Khalida Jarrar, a frontrunner of the Widespread Entrance for the Liberation of Palestine within the occupied West Financial institution. Others on the listing embrace at the very least 12 younger Palestinian males, a few of them beneath 19 years of age, and minors.
In accordance with Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, many kids and minors have been arrested for costs associated to throwing rocks at Israeli forces.
“We’re speaking about mild sentences,” she stated. “The listing of prisoners, the a whole bunch of names which have been launched, are largely serving administrative detention, which is a tactic utilized by Israeli coverage to maintain folks in jail indefinitely with out costs. These administrative detentions preserve getting renewed over and over.”
Hours earlier than the ceasefire took impact, Israel introduced it had retrieved the physique of Oron Shaul, a soldier killed within the 2014 Israel-Hamas warfare and whose stays have been held since then.
