Three hostages released by Hamas arrive in Israel on the first day of truce in Gaza

The three hostages released on Sunday by Hamas arrived in Israel, on the first day of the ceasefire between the Israeli army and the Palestinian Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip devastated by more than 15 months of war.

Thousands of displaced Palestinians took to the roads through an apocalyptic landscape of rubble to return home when the guns fell silent at 09:15 GMT. Most found only ruins there, like Siria al-Arouqi, a 52-year-old from Gaza who has just returned to Rafah (south), who speaks of destruction «indescribable».

The truce, which comes on the eve of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, came into effect almost three hours behind schedule, as Hamas was late in providing the list of three Israeli hostages to be released. during the day in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel according to the negotiated agreement.

“The three hostages were officially handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (…) in the west of Gaza City, after a member of the ICRC teams met them and assured of their condition »declared a Hamas leader to AFP late in the afternoon.

Shortly afterwards, the Israeli army declared that they had crossed the border and were “en route to a meeting point in southern Israel”.

She confirmed the identities of the three hostages: British-Israeli Emily Damari (28 years old) and Romanian-Israeli Doron Steinbrecher (31 years old), captured at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, as well as Romi Gonen (24 years old), kidnapped in Nova music festival, during the attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel.

“Emily, Doron and Romi are finally on their way home”Army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on television. “It’s a moment of great emotion. »

The entry into force of the agreement fuels hopes for lasting peace in the Palestinian territory, even if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that it was “a provisional ceasefire” and that Israel reserved “the right to resume the war if necessary”.

The armed wing of Hamas, for its part, said that the truce depended on « respect des engagements » by Israel.

Just a few minutes after the truce came into force, which also provides for an increase in humanitarian aid in this famine-stricken territory, the UN announced the arrival of the first aid trucks.

“After so much pain”

In the Gaza Strip, some did « V » victory or waved the Palestinian flag. Hooded and armed Hamas fighters marched in Deir el-Balah, in the center of the small territory where the vast majority of the 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced by the war.

In Jabalia, in the north, the epicenter of an intense Israeli offensive since October, “there is nothing left”complained Walid Abou Jiab.

In the interval between the scheduled start of the truce and its entry into force, Israel carried out strikes in Gaza on Sunday that killed eight Palestinians, according to local Civil Defense.

Hamas justified its delay in handing over the list of hostages by “complications on the ground and continued bombing”.

Announced on Wednesday by the mediators – Qatar, United States, Egypt – the agreement ultimately aims, according to Doha, to lead to “final end” of the war, triggered by the attack of October 7.

US President Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire on Sunday. “After so much pain, destruction, loss of life, the guns fell silent today in Gaza”greeted the Democratic leader on the sidelines of a visit to South Carolina for his last full day as sitting president.

Under the terms of the agreement, hostilities must cease and 33 Israeli hostages must be released, in an initial phase of six weeks. Three hostage reception points have been set up on Israel’s border with Gaza, according to a military official.

In exchange, the Israeli authorities said they would release some 1,900 Palestinians within this deadline, 90 of whom should be released on Sunday, according to Hamas, which said it was awaiting the list. ” shortly “.

Two Franco-Israelis, Ofer Kalderon, 54, and Ohad Yahalomi, 50, are among the 33 hostages who can be released, according to Paris.

Among the Palestinian prisoners expected to be released is Zakaria al-Zoubeidi, responsible for anti-Israeli attacks and former local leader of the armed wing of Fatah, imprisoned in 2019.

600 aid trucks

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the ceasefire, saying on X that it was “imperative” than this one “removes significant security and political obstacles to the delivery of aid”.

According to Egypt, the agreement provides “the entry of 600 aid trucks per day”. “260 aid trucks and 16 fuel trucks” have entered through the Kerem Shalom crossings between Israel and Gaza and Nitzana on the Egypt-Israel border since the truce, an Egyptian official said.

During the first phase, the modalities of the second will be negotiated, which should allow the release of the last hostages, before the third and final stage devoted to the reconstruction of Gaza and the restitution of the bodies of hostages who died in captivity.

According to Joe Biden, the first phase of the agreement also includes an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas in Gaza.

The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Of 251 people kidnapped that day, 91 remain hostages in Gaza, including 34 dead according to the Israeli army.

At least 46,913 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Israeli retaliatory offensive in Gaza, according to data from the Hamas Health Ministry deemed reliable by the UN.