Hamas has released 24 hostages so far in its temporary ceasefire agreement with Israel, the governments of Israel, Qatar and the U.S. have confirmed—the released hostages include children as young as 2 years old, several Thai nationals and a son-mother-grandmother trio, multiple news organizations reported.
Key Takeaways
- Four children aged 9 or younger are among the freed hostages, including a 2-year-old girl named Aviv, who was freed along with her four-year-old sister Raz and her mother Doron Katz Asher, 34, the BBC reported.
- The other children released were Emilia, aged 6 and Ohad Munder-Zichri, aged 9, according to the BBC.
- The Israeli hostages freed—all of which were women or children—also included cancer survivor Margalit Mozes,78 Adina Moshe, 72; Emilia’s mother Daniele Aloni,44; South African emigrant Channah Peri, 79; Yafa Adar, 85; Hanna Katzir,77; Munder-Zichri’s mother Keren Munder, 54; and his grandmother Ruthi Munder, 78; according to the BBC.
- In a separate deal brokered between Hamas and the Thai and Egyptian governments, 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino were freed from Hamas custody, the AP reported.
- The Thai were some of the 30,000 Thai migrant workers that had come to Israel looking for work, mostly in the agricultural sector, according to the AP.
- The Thai government did not release the names of the Thai or Filipino nationals released.
Key Background
On Wednesday, the Qatari government, which had been acting as an intermediary, announced a deal between Israel and Hamas. As part of that deal, Hamas is to release 50 of the hostages it took when it attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel is to release 150 prisoners it has been holding in its Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank and the two have agreed to a four-day pause in the relentless fighting that has engulfed Gaza over the past seven weeks. That temporary pause began Friday morning and multiple news organizations have reported that trucks filled with humanitarian aid have entered Gaza.
Tangent
In addition to the Israeli hostages, 39 prisoners were released Friday by Israel. Those prisoners included 24 Palestinian women and 15 teenagers, according to the AP, many of whom had been jailed for minor offenses such as throwing stones.
What To Watch For
More hostages being released. Hamas took 240 hostages when it attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7 and the most-recent deal calls for a total of 50 of them to be released during this four-day ceasefire. Additionally, Israel has agreed to extend the pause in fighting one day for every 10 additional hostages Hamas releases.
This article was first published on forbes.com.
