The list is finally here. With a delay of more than two hours, the armed wing of Hamas published on Sunday a list of three Israeli hostages which it said should be released the same day as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Islamist movement. Israel confirmed having received it.
“The al-Qassam Brigades decided to release today, Sunday January 19, 2025, the following Israeli prisoners,” indicates the armed wing of Hamas by publishing the names of three young women kidnapped on October 7, 2023. The entry into force of the truce, initially scheduled for 6:30 a.m. GMT (8:30 a.m. local time, 7:30 a.m. French time), was delayed, with Israel demanding to receive this list before implementing the agreement, and finally came into force at 09:15 GMT.
Who are they?
They are Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher. The three women, civilians, were taken hostage on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas attack in Israel in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 kidnapped in Gaza.
-Romi Gonen, 24, was kidnapped from the venue of the Tribe of Nova music festival. A year ago, her mother, along with other hostage relatives, stood at the border of the Gaza Strip with a megaphone and amplifiers to shout messages of encouragement to her daughter. “We thought you’d be home in a week.” Be strong! “, shouted Merav Leshem-Gonen.
Emily Damari, a 28-year-old woman with dual Israeli-British nationality, and Doron Steinbrecher were kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Doron, aged 31, described as “discreet” by her sister, was undergoing medical treatment to which she has no longer had access since her kidnapping, one of the many sources of concern for her family.
