the first three hostages released by Hamas are back in Israel

The Israeli army recovered the three Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after Hamas handed them over to the Red Cross.

The Israeli army announced on Sunday, January 19, that the first three hostages released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, had arrived in Israeli territory . They “crossed the border en route to a meeting point in southern Israel”wrote the Israeli army, before broadcasting on X a video showing the joy of the families of the ex-hostages at the moment when they were handed over to the forces of the Hebrew State.

The three Israeli women were first handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in a crowded square in Gaza City, where many heavily armed Palestinian movement fighters formed a two-meter cordon allowing the hostages to leaving a Hamas van to join a vehicle of the humanitarian organization. The Red Cross convoy then left the area to join Israeli special forces, who supervised the operation all the way to the border.

Once in Israel, the returnees were taken care of at the reception point of Reim, where they were able to find their mothers gathered for the occasion. They must receive an initial medical assessment there, before being transferred to a hospital where other members of their families await them.