Hamas hands over Israeli hostages as Palestinian prisoners also released under Gaza ceasefire deal | World News

Israel says Hamas has handed over all 20 surviving hostages as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

The remaining Israeli hostages are being released by Hamas after being held in Gaza for more than two years, in exchange for over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Hamas initially handed over seven hostages to the Red Cross, who were driven to Israeli security forces to be taken into Israel. It later handed over 13 more hostages. They reunited with their families before being flown by helicopter to hospitals.

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Tens of thousands of Israelis watched the transfers at public screenings across the country.

The families and friends of hostages broke out into cheers as Israeli TV channels announced the hostages were in the hands of the Red Cross.

Israel previously said that of the 251 initially taken captive in Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack, 20 of the hostages that remained in Gaza were thought to be alive and 28 were presumed dead.

The 20 hostages are all men aged between 20 and 48, who have spent more than two years in captivity.

As part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump‘s ceasefire agreement, Hamas was given 72 hours to release all the Israeli hostages, alive and dead.

The agreed ceasefire started at midday local time (10am UK time) on Friday, with tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians moving back towards northern Gaza, which was mostly destroyed by Israel.

Read more:
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Who are the hostages to be freed?

Hamas released a list of the 20 living hostages it has freed. Tap on their pictures to read more about them:

As part of the hostage and prisoner exchange, Israel is expected to free 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans detained after the October 7 attacks.

A second phase of the plan, which all sides have yet to agree on, could see Israeli troops further withdrawing from Gaza.

Trump hails ‘historic dawn of new Middle East’

Mr Trump arrived in Israel on Monday after travelling from Washington on board Air Force One.

The US president received a hero’s welcome ahead of his address to Israel’s parliament on Monday. He will be awarded Israel’s highest civilian honour later this year, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said.

“This is a historic dawn of a new Middle East,” Mr Trump said. “Generations from now this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better.”

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation, with airstrikes and ground assaults devastating much of the enclave, killing more than 67,000, according to its Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of those killed were women and children.