Israel confirmed this Friday that the Islamist group Hamas has handed over thirteen Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, who are being transferred to Egypt, the official Israeli Army radio reported citing government sources.
The kidnapped people will leave through the Rafah crossing, along with twelve other Thai captivesas part of an agreement for the release of 50 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners during a four-day truce in Gaza.
The twelve released Thais are not part of the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United Statesbut would be the result of a parallel negotiation between Thailand and the Islamist group.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, Thailand has sought different ways to achieve the release of the kidnapped people, including a trip led by the head of Thai diplomacy to Egypt and Qatar and meetings in Iran of representatives of the Thai Government with members of the Islamist group.
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, together with the head of Defense, Yoav Gallant, is at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv, headquarters of the Israeli Army, to supervise the imminent release of the thirteen Israeli hostages.
“The Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense will closely follow the management of the operation to bring back to the country the Israelis released from Hamas captivity,” the Government reported in a statement.
The first thirteen Israeli hostages are exchanged today for 39 Palestinian prisonerswho are currently in the Israeli prison of Ofer to be released when Israel confirms the identity of the released Israelis.
The exchange, in both cases, is reduced to women and children. In the case of the Palestinian prisoners, today 24 women and 15 male adolescents will be released.
Israel frees 39 Palestinian prisoners
Israel released the first 39 Palestinian prisoners this Friday as part of the agreement reached with the Islamist group Hamas, which shortly before had freed 13 Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7.
Majed al Ansari, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, a mediator country in the agreement between Hamas and Israel, confirmed “the release of 39 women and children detained in Israeli prisons, thus maintaining the commitment of the first day of the agreement,” through his official X account (formerly Twitter).
Likewise, local televisions have shown images of two buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) transporting the prisoners.
Israel has released 24 women and 15 male adolescentsall accused of terrorism, but not for blood crimes.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society had announced their names hours earlier, among which none of the Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces since the war in Gaza began on October 7 in the West Bank, where it has intensified its raids.
According to the Prisoners Society, more than 3,100 have been arrested since then, although the Israeli Army reduces that number to around 1,800, of whom it alleges that more than a thousand have links to Hamas.
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