The handover took place in a hospital in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip. The hostages are now said to be on their way to the Rafah border crossing to Egypt.
ADVERTISEMENTThe first group of 13 Israeli hostages has been handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, together with 12 Thai citizens who had been taken by the militant group on 7 October.
Israeli media reports 13 Israeli women and children have been handed over to the aid organisation.
The handover took place in a hospital in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip. The hostages are now said to be on their way to the Rafah border crossing to Egypt. They will then be handed over to the Israeli army.
“The Israeli prisoners have been handed over to the Egyptian side,” said a source close to Hamas.
The release of the 12 Thai hostages was confirmed by Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners have also been reportedly released from Israeli prisons. The releases are part of a four-day cease-fire deal.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had started a “vast operation” on Friday to reunite hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons with their families.
“ICRC teams launched an operation on Friday which will take place over several days to facilitate the release and transfer of hostages held in Gaza as well as the transfer of Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank,” the Geneva-based organisation said. in a press release.
Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.