All hostages released in Gaza taken to Israeli hospitals
After seven long weeks, 24 children, women and men who were held hostage in Gaza have returned home to Israel, Israel’s Health Ministry reported
All 24 people who arrived in Israel as part of the first group of hostages released in the Gaza Strip have been taken to hospitals where they are receiving medical and psychological assistance, Israel’s Health Ministry reported.
“After seven long weeks, 24 children, women and men who were held hostage in Gaza have returned home to Israel. Among them are 13 Israelis and 11 foreign citizens. They have met with their family members in hospitals and are receiving medical assistance and psychological support as needed,” the ministry’s press service said in a statement.
On Friday, Palestinian radicals freed 13 Israelis, including four children. In exchange, Israel agreed to release 39 Palestinians from prison: 24 women and 15 teenagers, at a rate of three Palestinians for every Israeli. In addition, according to the Israeli authorities, 11 foreign citizens who were not subject to the terms of the deal were also released. From the Gaza Strip they all went to Egypt, from where they were brought to Israel – first to a military base, where they underwent a medical examination, and then were taken by helicopter to various hospitals throughout the country. According to the army press service, an initial examination showed that the lives of all those released were not in danger.
Hamas said on November 22 it had reached an agreement with Israel, which was brokered by Qatar and Egypt, to introduce a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip for four days. The group said that the agreement involves the release of 50 women and children under the age of 19 that are held in the enclave in exchange for the release of 150 women and children under the age of 19 from Israeli prisons. The Gaza truce kicked off at 5:00 a.m. GMT.
The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7, accompanied by killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking more than 200 hostages, including children, women and elderly people. Hamas has cast the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. Israel also strikes parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for bombardments originating from these countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.
