Three hostages released by Hamas reunited with their mothers after ceasefire agreement | Israel-Gaza War

Three women held hostage by Hamas in tunnels under Gaza during 15 months of devastating conflict, including British national Emily Damari, have been freed and reunited with their mothers in the first act of a ceasefire agreement aimed at to end the conflict.

Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on Sunday afternoon, ending a long ordeal that began with their violent abduction by the Hamas on October 7, 2023.

On Sunday evening, the Israeli military said the three men were reunited with their mothers at a meeting point in Israel, near the kibbutz and nearby music festival where they were kidnapped.

In photos released by the Damari family of Emily’s reunion with her mother, Mandy, Damari can be seen kissing her mother as she talks to her brother on the phone. In a second image, she can be seen gesturing happily to a crying family member with a bandaged hand, with two fingers missing on the hand she was shot in when she was kidnapped.

Earlier, live television footage from the surrender, broadcast from the scene by Al Jazeera, showed a white van arriving at a square in Gaza City’s Rimal district with the three women inside.

Moments later, the women emerged from the vehicles accompanied by Hamas fighters wearing green headbands and balaclavas and closely pressed by the crowd who were taking photos with cellphones and chanting support for Hamas.

The handover was confirmed by Israeli, Hamas and Red Cross officials to media shortly after 5 p.m. local time (3 p.m. GMT), with the women described as “in good health” by the Red Cross to an Israeli official. .

“The three female hostages were officially handed over to the Red Cross in al-Saraya Square, in the al-Rimal neighborhood, west of Gaza City,” a senior Hamas official told Reuters. Agence France-Presse. “This happened after a member of the Red Cross team met them and checked on their well-being.”

The transfer to Israeli forces was confirmed in a joint statement just over half an hour later by the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet domestic security agency.

“The three returnees have now been transferred to IDF and Shin Bet forces in the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.

“The three returnees are now accompanied by an elite IDF and Shin Bet unit on their way back to Israel, to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical evaluation.

“IDF commanders and soldiers greet and embrace returnees on their way to Israel. »

As of Sunday evening, all three women were described as being in “stable condition” by officials at Sheba Medical Center.

The three hostages, two of whom were injured during their kidnapping, are the first of 33 hostages – belonging to the so-called humanitarian category, including women, children, the sick and the elderly – whose release is planned during the first part of a complex three phase hostage agreement process.

Others of the 33 will be released in small groups on subsequent Sundays as the ceasefire progresses.

Earlier video footage showed a convoy of four White Red Cross vehicles heading towards the center of Gaza City to collect the three hostages.

Later footage showed the SUVs parked at what appeared to be an agreed meeting point, where they were surrounded by a crowd held back by armed members of Hamas’ al-Qassam brigades.

From there, the freed hostages were delivered first to the Israeli military and then to waiting helicopters to transport them to a hospital in Israel.

The release came as Israel announced it was preparing to release 90 Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank later Sunday, as part of the ceasefire agreement.

Once the first three hostages are returned on Sunday, Israel is expected to release the first Palestinian detainees under the deal. According to Hamas, among the 90 Palestinians released on Sunday were 69 women and 21 teenagers.

There is no detailed plan for governing Gaza after the war, let alone rebuilding it. Any return of Hamas to control of Gaza will test Israel’s commitment to the truce, which has said it will resume war unless the militant group that has ruled the territory since 2007 is completely dismantled .