The Red Cross said on Monday it had begun an operation in the Gaza Strip to return both Palestinian and Israeli hostages, the initial phase of a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza that U.S. President Donald Trump helped to broker.
Under the agreement, Israel was set to release almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners from its jails later on Monday. The handover of 28 other Israeli hostages — 26 dead and two whose fate is unknown – is expected to follow. It is understood seven Israeli hostages in Gaza are now handed over to e International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) custody.
And all 1,966 Palestinian detainees slated for expected release on Monday have boarded buses at Israeli prisons, an official told Reuters.
The ICRC was expected to drive the Israeli hostages to Israeli security forces, who would take them across the border, where they would be reunited with family and flown by helicopter to hospitals in central Israel.
An official involved in the operation told Reuters the ICRC convoy had arrived at the first hostage collection point in Gaza.
In Israel, people waving Israeli flags gathered near Reim, a military camp near Gaza, where hostages will be brought and then taken to hospitals.
Hundreds of people gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, cheering and waving Israeli flags and holding up posters of the hostages.
About a dozen or so masked gunmen dressed in black, apparently members of Hamas’ armed wing, arrived at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, Reuters footage showed, gathering at one of the locations where some hostages could be handed over to the Red Cross or freed Palestinian prisoners may arrive.
They lined up next to several ambulances and near an area where chairs had been lined up, in the sandy area, for a reception.
The truce and the exchange of both hostages and prisoners follow two years of war that evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon, while deepening Israel’s international isolation and reshaping the Middle East.
“The war is over,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew from Washington to Israel on Sunday. Asked about prospects for the region, he said: “I think it’s going to normalise.”
Trump is set for a hero’s welcome when he addresses Israel’s parliament later on Monday. He will be awarded Israel’s highest civilian honour later this year, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said.
Reuters