Hamas released the first of eight hostages on Thursday after more than a year of captivity in Gaza, as the fragile cease-fire between the two sides held through its second week.
Three Israeli hostages are slated for release. They are Gadi Moses, 80; Arbel Yehud, 29; and Agam Berger, 20, according to the Israeli authorities. Hamas confirmed in a statement that the three Israelis would be freed. Also expected to be released are five Thai hostages. Neither Israel nor Hamas named them.
On Thursday morning, Hamas fighters in the northern Gaza city of Jabaliya brought out a female Israeli hostage, who appeared to be Ms. Berger, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier who was abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, footage on Al Jazeera showed.
The fighters took her onto a stage where crowds gathered and handed her a certificate as music played in the background, in a heavily choreographed performance that appeared intended to show that Hamas still controls Gaza. In Tel Aviv, crowds of Israelis watching the release on a large screen clapped and cheered, but the celebration remained largely muted.
The hostage has been transferred to the Red Cross and is on her way to meet Israeli military and security forces in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said, citing information communicated by the Red Cross.
Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel is expected to release 110 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages released on Thursday, including 32 serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis. One of them is Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent militant who joined a 2021 prison break before being arrested again.
The exchange is the third as Israel and Hamas observe a six-week truce, part of a multiphase agreement that mediators hope will end the war in Gaza. More than 45,000 people have been killed there during Israel’s campaign against Hamas, according to Gazan health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
As part of the deal, Hamas committed to freeing at least 33 of the remaining 97 hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of over 1,500 Palestinians jailed by Israel.
Here’s what else to know:
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Ms. Yehud — one of the last living women held hostage — was initially supposed to be freed last week. When she was not released, Israel blocked hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza, as the agreement stipulated. The Israeli military allowed them to proceed after mediators said on Sunday that they had secured a commitment for Ms. Yehud’s release.
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The Thai hostages were abducted during the Hamas-led attack in 2023 from four farms close to the Gaza border, where they were agricultural workers. Dozens of Thai farmworkers were kidnapped or killed during the assault, making them the second-largest group of victims in the Oct. 7 attack, after Israelis.
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Aِbout 20 of the Palestinian prisoners are set to be expelled abroad, and will not be allowed to return their homes in the West Bank or Jerusalem, according to the Hamas-linked prisoners’ office. Expelled prisoners can head to the Gaza Strip or leave for Egypt, where discussions over their final destination are ongoing, according to the Palestinian commissioner for prisoners’ affairs.