Reuters. Militants from Hamas and allied groups Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees arrived at a site in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, ahead of the handover of Israeli hostages on Thursday (January 30), as part of the ceasefire deal. Three Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in return for 110 Palestinian prisoners, while Israeli media reported that five Thai hostages may also be released.
Meanwhile, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) convoy arrived in Jabalia, northern Gaza, ahead of a planned hostage release, or releases, that would take place there. The first hostage to be released was 20-year-old Israeli soldier Agam Berger, who was escorted to a stage by Hamas militants before they surrendered her to the ICRC convoy.
Berger's friends rejoiced as they watched her release on a television screen in Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv. Berger's parents displayed happiness and release as they watched her release alongside Israeli army officers.
People waved Israeli flags as the ICRC convoy carrying Berger arrived at the Re'im military base in southern Israel. She was then set to be transported by helicopter to a hospital.
Video released by the Israeli army showed Berger talking to fellow officers before getting into a blue van that drove away. Reuters was unable to verify the precise location, but the date was verified through corroborating reports of the hostage exchange.
Berger was soon reunited with her father, Shlmoi, and mother, Merav, at the military base in Re'im, the Israeli army said. A video released by the army showed 20-year-old Agam unable to contain her tears as her mother hugged her in her lap, promising to ''never leave her.''
Reuters was unable to verify the location, the date was verified through corroborating reports of the hostage exchange. A video released by Hamas' allies Islamic Jihad showed the remaining two Israeli hostages expected to be released sharing emotional moment in the presence of masked gunmen in black uniforms.
Reuters was able to confirm the identity of the two hostages as Arbel Yehud, 29, and 80-year-old Gadi Moses by file imagery shared by families. Both hostages were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz in the Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7, 2023.
In far more chaotic scenes than those in Jabalia, Yehud and Moses were later released in the second hostage handover in Khan Younis. A sizeable crowd of onlookers surrounded the pair as they were escorted by a number of armed militants to waiting ICRC vehicles.
Yehud was surrounded by militants as she was escorted to the ICRC convoy by armed militants. The convoy then struggled to depart through the dense crowd. The Israeli military later confirmed seven hostages, including two Israelis and five foreign nationals, had been transferred to the Red Cross. People gathered on Tel Aviv's Hostage Square celebrated after news of the remaining hostages' release.
