Hamas is set to free three more Israeli hostages as well as five Thai captives on Thursday, and Israel is to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners, in the third such exchange since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold earlier this month. The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel sparked the fighting. It has held despite a dispute earlier this week over the sequence in which the hostages were released. The Israelis set to be released are Arbel Yehoud, 29, Agam Berger, 20 — who was abducted along with four other female soldiers who were freed Saturday — and Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man. The identities of the Thai nationals who will be released were not immediately known.
Hamas-led militants freed eight hostages on Thursday in the latest release since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold earlier this month. Israel was expected to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners. The release was delayed by a chaotic scene in which a crowd of Palestinians surrounded and jeered at hostages as they were turned over to the Red Cross. The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel sparked the fighting. It has held despite a dispute earlier this week over the sequence in which the hostages were released. The first hostage, female Israeli soldier Agam Berger, was released in northern Gaza. Hours later, a chaotic scene unfolded as thousands of people pressed around a handover site in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, in front of the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
The truce between Israel and Hamas hinges on the release of Israeli hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, in exchange for 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Eight hostages freed today as Israel demands clarity on youngest prisoner Kfir Bibas and family Two Israeli women including an IDF soldier, and an 80-year-old man will be freed from Hamas captivity on Thursday along with five Thais as fears grow Kfir Bibas, 2, and his family are dead.
