Hamas frees 24 hostages from Gaza on first day of truce
(VOVWORLD) - Hamas fighters released 24 hostages on Friday during the first day of the conflict's first truce, including Israeli women and children and Thai farm workers, after guns fell silent across the Gaza Strip for the first time in seven weeks.
The hostages were transferred out of Gaza and handed over to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
Qatar, which acted as mediator for the truce deal, said 13 Israelis had been released, some with dual nationality, plus 10 Thais and a Filipino. Thirty-nine Palestinian women and children detainees were released from Israeli jails.
The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said 137 trucks of goods were offloaded in Gaza on Friday, the biggest humanitarian convoy received since Oct. 7.
According to Israeli tallies, Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and seized about 240 hostages when they burst across the border fence into southern Israel on Oct. 7.