90 Palestinian prisoners and three Israeli hostages freed
Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners on January 19th, the first day of a ceasefire, marking a pause in a devastating 15-month conflict that has ravaged the Gaza Strip and escalated tensions across the Middle East, Reuters reports.
The truce enabled Palestinians to revisit their bombed neighbourhoods and start rebuilding their lives, as relief trucks brought aid. In Gaza, crowds gathered to cheer Hamas fighters who returned from hiding.
Fireworks lit up the sky as buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah in the West Bank, where thousands awaited their arrival. According to Hamas, the released individuals from Israel’s jails were 69 women and 21 teenage boys from the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Hundreds of Israelis in Tel Aviv celebrated and wept in a square outside the defence headquarters as a live broadcast from Gaza revealed three female hostages entering a Red Cross vehicle, with Hamas fighters surrounding it.
The Israeli military said the hostages Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari met their mothers. A video showed the women in apparent good health. Damari, who had lost two fingers when she was shot during her abduction was smiling and embracing her mother while displaying her hand that had a bandage on it.
“I would like you to tell them: Romi, Doron, and Emily – an entire nation embraces you. Welcome home,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a phone call to a commander.
The women met with their families in Sheba Medical Centre. The emotional meetings transitioned from tears to joy, with Damari putting an Israeli flag over her body. They were among over 250 people abducted and 1,200 killed in a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th 2023, according to Israel.
Since then, over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, Gaza medical officials reported. Nearly the whole 2.3 million residents of Gaza have been rendered homeless, while around 400 Israeli soldiers have also lost their lives.
The ceasefire agreement stipulates a halting of hostilities, the delivery of aid to Gaza, and the release of 33 of the almost 100 remaining Israeli and foreign hostages during the first six-week phase, in exchange for the release of almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Many hostages are believed to have died.
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In northern Gaza, Palestinians walked through the rubble and twisted metal of their of bombed-out neighbourhoods.
“I feel like at last I found some water to drink after being lost in the desert for 15 months,” said Aya, who mentioned that she has been displaced from her home in Gaza City for over a year.
The truce came into effect after a three-hour delay, during which Israeli forces launched airstrikes and artillery attacks on the strip.
Palestinian health authorities reported 13 deaths from the last-minute bombing, while Israel attributed the strikes to Hamas’s delay in providing the list of hostages to be freed. Hamas cited technical issues for the delay.
“Today the guns in Gaza have gone silent,” said US President Joe Biden on his final full day in office, crediting Israel’s pressure on Hamas, which was supported by the US, for achieving the truce.
For Hamas, the truce offered a chance to reappear publicly following 15 months in hiding. Armed fighters drove through Khan Younis, greeted by crowds cheering “Greetings to Al-Qassam Brigades”. Hamas policemen, in blue uniforms, were also seen in some areas.
“All the resistance factions are staying in spite of Netanyahu,” a fighter told Reuters.
No comprehensive plan exists for governing or rebuilding Gaza post-war. The prospect of Hamas regaining control would raise concerns in Israel, which has vowed to recommence fighting unless the group is entirely dismantled.
Hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned from the cabinet due to the ceasefire, although his party said it would not seek to topple Netanyahu’s government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, another leading hardliner, threatened to resign if the war ends without Hamas’s complete destruction.
The truce coincided with the evening of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. His national security adviser-designate, Mike Waltz, said that if Hamas goes back on the agreement, Israel could count on US support “in doing what [Israel] has to do”.
“Hamas will never govern Gaza. That is completely unacceptable,” Waltz added.
Meanwhile, Gaza City’s shattered streets had groups waving Palestinian flags and documenting the scenes with mobile phones. Carts filled with household items went through thoroughfares littered with debris and rubble.
Ahmed Abu Ayham, 40, from Gaza City, acknowledged the ceasefire’s life-saving impact but said the destruction overshadowed any sentiment of celebration.
“We are in pain, deep pain, and it is time to hug one another and cry,” Ayham added.
Reuters
