Hamas to free 2nd batch of hostages today after 24 captives returned to Israel

Israel has received a list of the second batch of hostages who are expected to be released by Hamas on Saturday, a day after the first batch of 24 hostages were released in exchange for a four-day ceasefire in fighting.

According to a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, security officials were reviewing the list, news agency Reuters reported. Netanyahu had earlier promised that his government would work to secure the release of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas since the latter’s attack on Israel on October 7.

Israel began bombarding Gaza in response to Hamas’s unprecedented and multi-pronged attack on the Jewish nation. Israeli forces further intensified their military operations by launching a ground assault to eliminate Hamas’s terror infrastructure. The fighting has killed some 14,000 people in Gaza and around 1,200 in Israel.

On Friday, 24 hostages, who were taken during Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel, were released at Kerem Shalom crossing after seven weeks in captivity.

In the first stage of prisoner swap under a four-day ceasefire deal, 24 hostages, including 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and a Filipino citizen, were released by Hamas, according to Qatar, which acted as a mediator for the ceasefire deal.

The Israeli hostages who were released included five elderly women and four children accompanied by their family members. In exchange, 39 Palestinian women and children were released from Israeli jails as part of the deal reached between Israel and Hamas.

The ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas would see the release of 50 hostages over the next few days.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organisation serving the enclaves of Gaza and the West Bank, said 196 trucks having supplies of food, water and medical supplies were delivered to Gaza from the Rafah border crossing on Friday.

This was the largest-ever aid consignment delivered into Gaza since Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel and Israel’s deadly counteroffensive of the territory. Since October 21, some 1,759 trucks have entered Gaza, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.

The hostages on Friday were handed over by Hamas to the International Red Cross at a hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. They were taken to the Rafah crossing, the border between Egypt and Gaza, and were handed over to Israeli security forces, The Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli Health Ministry has put up strict protocols for the treatment of the released captives. They will be under observation for 48 hours before being sent back home.

US President Joe Biden did not speculate on how long would the war between Israel and Hamas go on. He, however, said there was a real chance of extending the truce, adding it was a crucial opportunity for more aid to get into Gaza.

Biden stated Israel’s goal of wiping out the Hamas, the group which rules Gaza, was a legitimate but a tough objective. “I don’t know how long it will take,” he said.