More than a year after the October 7 attacks and the conflict between Israel and Hamas that followed, a truce agreement was reached between the two belligerents. Fragile, it should still bring a majority of hostages back to their families. A program called “Wings of Freedom” was set up to organize their return.
The Middle East agreement announced this Wednesday, January 15 is still fragile, but brings new hope. Particularly for the families of Israeli hostages held in captivity for 450 days. An agreement which includes the release of 94 people held by Hamas terrorists, including 33 who should initially be released. The preparations for this return of the hostages called “The Wings of Freedom” require a fairly precise timetable.
The rest after this ad
The rest after this ad
The wings of freedom
The first hostages should reach Israeli soil this Sunday, January 19 or Monday 20. The rest of the detainees will then follow, who will arrive slowly, with priority given to women, children, the elderly and even the sick. During the last return of hostages, in November 2023, the Israeli army deployed a center, very close to Kereme Shalom, where the relatives were dropped off by helicopter.
On the Gaza side, the prisoners had been handed over by Hamas terrorists to International Red Cross personnel responsible for bringing them into Israel. Ada Jaoui Calderon, mother of two children then released, recounts the protocol in her book “52 days without them”. A caravan equipped with cuddly toys, pajamas and blankets awaited the children so that they could spend a few hours with their family in this small space before being taken by helicopter to the hospital to be examined for several days.
The rest after this ad
The rest after this ad
Soon-to-be-released prisoners are expected to spend much more time under close medical supervision after fifteen months of detention. The agreement provides that the rest of the living hostages will be released in a second phase and that the bodies of the deceased captives will be returned to Israel in the final phase.
