Eight Israeli and Thai hostages released from Gaza

Under the framework of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, eight more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were released, with chaotic scenes at the handover. The released hostages included three Israelis and five Thai citizens, who were first transferred by Hamas to the Red Cross, and then handed over to Israeli forces and brought back to Israel.

Concurrently, a total of 110 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons, including 32 who had been sentenced to life imprisonment and 30 minors. Due to dissatisfaction with the treatment during the hostage transfer process, Israel had initially delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Since the ceasefire agreement took effect on January 19, 15 hostages had been released as of Thursday, with 82 still being held captive. Israeli soldier Agam Berger was the first hostage released on Thursday, led through the ruins of Jabalia in northern Gaza by masked gunmen in a carefully orchestrated scene. After stepping onto a platform and receiving a certificate, she was handed over to the Red Cross. She was one of seven women from an unarmed observer unit kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and the last of that group to remain in Gaza.

Crowds watching on a large screen at "Hostages Square" in Tel Aviv cheered. Yahel Oren, who served in the same unit as Berger, said, "Seeing her face, seeing her back with her family, I feel very emotional." Photos released by the Israeli military showed her embracing the other four young women from the unit who had been released the previous Saturday. Berger's family said in a statement that they could now "begin the healing process," but that "recovery will only be complete when all the hostages are home."

About two hours later, in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, another seven hostages were brought out amid chaotic scenes. Armed men led them through cheering crowds, many of whom were filming on their phones, before they were handed over to waiting Red Cross vehicles. The handover location was symbolic, in front of the ruins of the home of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was the mastermind of the October 7 attacks and was killed by Israeli forces in Rafah in October 2024. A journalist reporting on the handover said, "The scene was very chaotic, with a lot of pushing," and heard people shouting the names of Sinwar and Hamas. A woman in the crowd said she was proud of "the men of Gaza and the resistance of Gaza."

In Tel Aviv, people watched anxiously, holding Israeli flags and photos of the hostages. In addition to Berger, the released Israeli civilians included 29-year-old Arbel Yehud and 80-year-old Gadi Moses, as well as Thai agricultural workers Pongsak Thaenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Seathao, and Surasak Lamnao.

Underscoring the fragility of the ceasefire agreement, Israel suspended the release of prisoners until it received assurances that the scenes at the release of the Khan Younis hostages would not be repeated. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the "shocking scenes" were "further proof of the incredible barbarity of the Hamas terrorist organization." The Prime Minister's Office later said that it had received "assurances from the mediators that will ensure the safe departure of our hostages who have not yet been released."

The suspension was the latest obstacle in the complex and delicate series of reciprocal steps that Israel and Hamas committed to under the ceasefire agreement. Previously, Israel delayed allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza for two days because Hamas failed to include Arbel Yehud on the list of hostages released in the previous round on January 25. On October 7, 2023, 251 people were captured and about 1,200 people were killed when Hamas attacked Israel. The attack sparked a war that has devastated Gaza.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, Israel's 15-month military offensive has killed 47,460 Palestinians in the territory. Prior to Thursday, 290 Palestinian prisoners had been released under the ceasefire agreement, including those who had been sentenced to long terms for bombings and other attacks, as well as teenagers who had been held without charge. Most have returned to the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, while about 70 of the most serious offenders have been deported.