After a delay, the ceasefire in Gaza began at 10:15 am on Sunday. Three women, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, were the first hostages released as part of the ceasefire agreement, and were handed over via a Red Cross convoy.
The three Israeli women hostages held by Hamas have now been handed over to Israeli authorities and are back inside Israel.
After a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip came into effect on Sunday, January 19, the Israeli army confirmed that a Red Cross convoy sent to Gaza had brought the first Israeli hostages liberated as part of the agreement back into Israeli territory.
Earlier in the day, Israel and Qatar had said the truce with Hamas began in Gaza at 10:15 am (9:15 GMT), nearly three hours after initially scheduled, following a last-minute delay on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The announcement from Netanyahu’s office came after Hamas named the three female hostages it plans to release.
“A short while ago, accompanied by (Israeli military and security agency) forces, the released hostages crossed the border into Israeli territory. The released hostages are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment,” the military said in a statement.
Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement that the hostages were “in our hands and on their way home.”
“Our hearts are now with all the hostages still being held in inhuman conditions, and we are awaiting their return,” he added.
Moreover, a senior Hamas official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the Palestinian militant group had handed over three Israeli women hostages to the Red Cross, as agreed with Israel.
“The three women hostages were officially handed over to the Red Cross at al-Saraya Square in the al-Rimal neighbourhood in western Gaza City,” the official said. “This occurred after a member of the Red Cross team met with them and ensured their well-being.”
Israeli media are reporting that the army has asked the mothers of the three hostages to come to a meeting point at a base next to the Gaza border.
In a statement reacting to the three hostages’ return, 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,” Netanyahu said during a phone call with an Israeli official who was briefing him on the release of the three female hostages.
Ceasefire delays
On Sunday morning, a statement from Netanyahu’s office, issued less than an hour before the truce had been set to start at 8:30 am (6:30 am GMT), said he had “instructed the (Israeli army) that the ceasefire (…) will not begin until Israel has received the list” of hostages to be freed. During the delay, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed eight people.
The ceasefire is set to pause the fighting after 15 months of war and see the release of dozens of hostages held by the militants in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal early on Saturday.
Brokered by mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt in months of indirect talks between the warring sides, the ceasefire is the second truce achieved in the devastating conflict.
US President Joe Biden, whose administration has been heavily involved the mediation efforts, welcomed the ceasefire taking hold, saying that “after so much pain, death and loss of life, today the guns in Gaza have gone silent.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the truce, saying on X “it is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security and political obstacles to delivering aid.”
Pope Francis called, on Sunday, for the ceasefire in Gaza to be “immediately” respected as he thanked the mediators and urged a boost in humanitarian aid as well as the return of hostages. “I hope (…) it will be respected immediately by the parties,” Francis said at the end of the Angelus prayer, adding that he expressed “gratitude to the mediators” of the deal.
Doron Steinbrecher, 31, British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, and 24-year-old Romi Gonen, had been held by Hamas for the last 15 months.
‘Our beloved Dodo has finally returned to our arms’ – Steinbrecher family
Doron (right) with her mother, Simona and her sister, Yamit Ashkenazi
We’re now hearing from the family of 31-year-old veterinary nurse, Doron Steinbrecher, who was released from 15 months of captivity in Gaza earlier today.
“After an unbearable 471 days, our beloved Dodo has finally returned to our arms,” the family say in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
“We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported and accompanied us along this journey.”
“Our heroic Dodo, who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, begins her rehabilitation journey today,” they add.
“We will continue to stand with all the families and do everything in our power until all of their loved ones return home.”
Emily Damari, 28, with her mother, Mandy
Romi Gonen, 24
Doron Steinbrecher, 31
Released hostages heading for hospital treatment, says Israel
The Israeli military has just said the three released hostages – Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher, and Romi Gonen – are now travelling to an Israeli hospital in a helicopter for treatment.
The women are travelling with their mothers, and will be reunited with other family members at the hospital.
The treatment was a planned part of their release from 15 months being held hostage in Gaza.
ALL ABOUT THE RELEASE DEAL IN 1 MINUTE
*Three Israeli women hostages held by Hamas have now been handed over to Israeli authorities and are back inside Israel.
*Doron Steinbrecher, 31, Emily Damari, 28, and Romi Gonen, 24, have been brought to a facility for an initial medical check-up.
*The transfer took place in western Gaza City between Red Cross workers and Hamas earlier this afternoon – it was a chaotic scene.
*The Israeli government has welcomed the news, saying the “families have been informed by the relevant authorities that they have joined our forces”
*Friends and family members watching the hostages dramatic return reacted by chanting their names and cheering
*Simultaneously, several Red Cross coaches have begun entering the prison grounds in the occupied West Bank to pick up Palestinian prisoners – it’s expected that 90 prisoners will be freed from prisons there today, in exchange for the three Israeli hostages.
