Three Israelis and five Thai nationals captured by Hamas were freed on Thursday following a ceasefire agreement that came into effect this month.
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Three Israelis and five Thai nationals were freed amid chaotic scenes in Gaza on Thursday in the third exchange of its kind since a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took hold earlier this month.
In exchange, Israel was supposed to release 110 Palestinian prisoners later in the day, including around 30 serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was put on hold until the “safe release” of hostages can be assured, in protest over the chaos during the handover.
The first hostage to be released on Thursday morning, Agam Berger, was first shown on stage by armed militants in Khan Younis before being handed to the Red Cross and then transferred to the Israeli military.
The 20-year-old was kidnapped on 7 October 2023 from the Nahal Oz military base on the border with Gaza when Hamas militants ambushed southern Israel.
Berger worked as an observer at the base. She had just started in the position two days prior to the attack, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Hours after her release a chaotic scene unfolded with the second Israeli hostage, Arbel Yehud, looking stunned as masked militants hustled her through a shouting crowd. Hundreds of Hamas militants had gathered to watch the exchange, some from the tilted rooftops of bombed-out buildings.
Netanyahu called the scene “shocking" and asked international mediators to ensure the safety of hostages in future releases.
The other Israeli citizen released was identified as Gadi Moses.
The names of the Thai hostages — believed to be agricultural workers who were captured from their workplaces during Hamas' 7 October attack — have also been released.
Their names are Watchara Sriuan, Bannawat Seatho, Sathian Suwannakham, Pongsak Tanna and Surasak Lamnau.
Thailand's government said a total of six of its nationals were being held captive in Gaza, with Nattapong Pinta's whereabouts still unknown. Two other Thai hostages are believed to be dead.
The names of all the prisoners that were set to be released from their sentences in Israel are not known but include 32 serving life sentences and 30 women and children.
Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former militant leader and theatre director who took part in a dramatic jailbreak in 2021, was slated as one of the people to be released.
So far, seven female hostages have been freed in exchange for more than 290 Palestinians from Israeli jails.
On Saturday, a fourth hostage release involving three men is scheduled to take place, according to the Israeli government.
The ceasefire agreement was reached this month after a year of painstaking negotiations brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar.