The three hostages released by Hamas from the Gaza Strip today were given “gift bags” by members of the terror group before they were handed over to the Red Cross.
Hamas says 30 prisoners should be released for every Israeli hostage freed.
The three are the first of 33 that Hamas is expected to free during the first phase of the deal.
According to Hebrew-language media reports, the bags included photos of them in Hamas captivity and a “certificate.”
A video released by the IDF shows former hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher holding the gift bags when they were handed over to troops.
Guided by the Red Cross, the hostages were transferred to the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Authority just after 5:30 p.m. local time and crossed the border into Israeli territory shortly after that, those agencies said in a joint announcement. Both IDF special forces and ISA forces accompanied the freed hostages out of Gaza.
“The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the released hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel,” the agencies said.
The hostages released were confirmed as 24-year-old Romi Gonen, 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher and 28-year-old Emily Damari.
Israeli authorities said the freed hostages underwent initial medical evaluations at a reception point in southern Israel once they returned. After those checks, they boarded a military helicopter set to take them to other hospitals.
The IDF shared a video of the three women’s mothers watching footage of their daughters’ return from an Israeli soldier’s phone at the reception point.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had endured a horrific ordeal.
“I know, we all know, they have been through hell. They are emerging from darkness into light, from bondage to freedom,” he said.
“They appear to be in good health,” President Biden said in brief remarks as they were arriving in Israel.
Brett McGurk, the Biden administration National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that he had spoken to his Israeli counterparts about the conditions of the hostages.
“I know they’re alive,” McGurk said. “They’ve been held in deplorable conditions over 470 days, but the Israelis have a very good system to take them into their care, and they’re going to get the care they need and be reunited with their families.”
The ceasefire officially began earlier Sunday after a last-minute delay of almost three hours. The fighting continued past the initially provisioned 8:30 a.m. local (1:30 a.m. Eastern) deadline as the Israeli military said Hamas had failed to provide the names of the first three hostages due to be released, per the terms of the agreement.
In Gaza, fighter jets and drones were reported to have disappeared from the skies as the deal took effect, and at least 191 aid trucks were said to have begun entering into Gaza through the Karem Shalom crossing.
The first phase of the ceasefire calls for Hamas to release 33 hostages over a six-week period. They include women, children and hostages over 50 years old, a draft viewed by CBS News said.
The plan says three living female hostages will be returned on Day 1.
Four hostages will be released on Day 7, and the remaining 26 over the next five weeks.
Mr. Biden said Wednesday that Americans would be among the hostages released in the first phase of the agreement, but he did not specify any names or how soon they would be freed.
In phase one, Israel will release at least 1,700 Palestinian prisoners, including 1,167 Gaza residents who were not involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war.
All women and children under 19 from Gaza held by Israel will be freed during this phase.
The remainder of the hostages in Gaza, including male Israeli soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
During the ceasefire’s first phase, Israeli troops are to pull back into a buffer zone about a half mile wide inside Gaza along its borders with Israel.
In the interim between 8:30 a.m. and when the ceasefire took hold, Israeli fire killed at least 26 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It did not say whether they were civilians or fighters. The military has warned people to stay away from Israeli forces as they retreat to a buffer zone inside Gaza.
