Three Israeli hostages released by Hamas
Three Israeli hostages were released to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) on Sunday following a ceasefire deal between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
The three freed hostages, Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, were released by Hamas to the IDF on Sunday, the military announced on X. The trio entered Israeli territory soon after, where they received medical treatment and evaluation.
Israel is expected to release around 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday through a deal announced by President Biden earlier this week.
The freed hostages were reportedly in good health, according to the Red Cross, who helped facilitate the exchange, according to the IDF.
In October 2023, Romi Gonen, 24, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, and Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Their release comes amid the ceasefire in Gaza, which took effect early Sunday. It is the first step in ultimately ending the conflict and returning nearly 100 hostages abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
President Biden said in remarks following the announcement of the hostage release that "after so much pain, destruction and loss of life, today the guns in Gaza have gone silent."
He also praised the three freed hostages who were "held against their will in the dark tunnels for 470 days" and confirmed that four more women will be released in the coming days.
"Today's ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages is a result of a principled and effective policy that we presided over for months," Biden said. "And we got here without a wider war in the Middle East that many predicted. And now it falls to the next administration to help implement this deal."
Updated at 12:13 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press contributed.
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