After 15 months in Hamas captivity, the first three hostages have been released to the Red Cross, as part of the recent ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.
The truce went into effect at 11:15 a.m. local time on Sunday, the women were released later in the day, per The Associated Press. All three of them are said to be in good health.
The three released Israeli women have been identified by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum as Romin Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. All three women had been held since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
They were released by to the Red Cross by Hamas militants around 10:30 a.m. EST, or 5:30 p.m. local time, according to CBS.
What we know about the released hostages
After the three women were released, the Red Cross handed them over to the Israel Defense Force in Israel for wellness checks at reception centers near the Gaza border, per CBS.
They were to be transferred to hospitals inside Israel to be treated for any medical issues. They were also set to reunite with their families at the hospital.
Gonen, 24, was abducted from the Nova Music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Her mother, Merav, has been one of the biggest and most outspoken advocates for the return of the hostages.
The others were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on the same day. Damari, 28, is an Israeli-British dual citizen and Steinbrecher, 31, has Israeli and Romanian citizenship, per The AP.
How many other hostages will be released?
The three women are the first of 33 hostages set to be released by Hamas during the first phase of the cease-fire, which is to last five weeks, per Fox News.
In exchange for Hamas’ release of hostages, Israel has agreed to release 90 Palestinian prisoners.
According to CBS, there were 250 people kidnapped during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023 which started the 15 months of war. There are around 100 hostages still in Gaza, the rest have been released or their bodies have been recovered.
The next release of hostages is set to take place on Saturday Jan. 25, per The AP.
