Thursday, January 23

First Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners released as ceasefire between Israel and Hamas goes into effect

TEL AVIV — After 15 months of bloody fighting, Israelis welcomed the return of the first wave of hostages from the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening, just hours after Israel and Hamas’ long-awaited ceasefire went into effect and encouraged many displaced Palestinians to start walking home.

Many hope the arduous reprieve will bring an end to the fighting, which has killed over 46,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials, and enable the enclave, which has been largely destroyed by fierce Israeli shelling and airstrikes, to be rebuilt.

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Three female hostages were safely returned, marking the first in a concerted effort that is anticipated to continue in the days ahead. President Joe Biden claimed that the ceasefire in Gaza was achieved because of “the pressure Israel put on Hamas backed by the United States.”

“Today, the guns in Gaza have gone silent,” Biden stated during his last full day in office, as he made his statements on television. The three captives, he continued, “appear to be in good health.”

The young women were seen grinning and embracing waiting Israeli commandos as they climbed out of a Red Cross vehicle in a video released by the Israeli military. Each mother and daughter duo embraced when they were subsequently reunited with their mothers in Israel. They were scheduled to undergo medical examinations at a hospital close to Tel Aviv.

All of the freed hostages were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led terror assaults that resulted in a significant escalation in a conflict that had lasted for decades and claimed the lives of about 1,200 people.

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Three women were freed: Romi Gonen, 24, from the Nova Music Festival; Emily Damari, 28, a British Israeli citizen who was also abducted from the kibbutz and a prominent member of its young community; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, a veterinary nurse taken from kibbutz Kfar Aza. Damari lost two fingers on October 7, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organization that advocates for the families of hostages.

The captives were taken to Sheba Medical Center, where staff stated none of the women needed urgent medical attention and that they were given time to meet up with other family members and friends.

“I know, we all know, they have been through hell,” Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, spoke to military personnel. “They are emerging from darkness into light.”

Hundreds of relief trucks started to arrive in Gaza on Sunday. Israel’s offensive in the enclave, which was initiated in response to the Oct. 7 attacks, has devastated vital infrastructure and caused a severe humanitarian catastrophe.

After Israel’s raging onslaught, which destroyed or damaged most of the enclave’s buildings and forced nearly all of its 2 million residents to flee, Gazans seized the unique chance to examine what, if anything, remained of their homes. Some others celebrated the start of the shaky truce in the streets amid the destruction.

The ceasefire followed an hours-long wait in which Israeli forces continued to target areas of Gaza before the truce took effect, killing at least 19 people, according to the enclave’s Civil Defense organization.

During the hours of the delay, NBC News’ crew in Gaza recorded footage of sizable groups of people traveling, primarily on foot, close to Rafah in southern Gaza. It was unclear whether they were aware that the truce had not yet been implemented.

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A happy little boy was spotted directing a donkey-drawn cart while yelling, “To Rafah, to Rafah.”

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