The first round of Israeli hostages were released Hamas by Hamas as part of a ceasefire agreement between the two sides that went into effect Sunday (January 19) morning.
The Israel Defense Forces initially announced the release, which was later confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The IDF said the hostages were transferred to the ICRC and are “on their way” to Israeli forces in a statement obtained by ABC News.
The Israeli security cabinet officially approved the proposed agreement to a cease-fire deal with Hamas on Friday (January 17). The deal was approved with a simple majority vote by the 11 members of the security cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s Office confirmed.
Netanyahu and government officials accepted the peace agreement between Israel and Hamas following sudden delays, which the Jewish state called a “last-minute crisis” on Thursday (January 16). The delay reportedly stemmed from government infighting and disagreements over the plan’s details before officially being agreed upon Friday.
Netanyahu also claimed Hamas was backtracking from a previous agreement regarding the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the Associated Press reported. The cease-fire was first announced publicly on Wednesday (January 15) by the United States and Qatar, both of whom oversaw negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The agreement is expected to be rolled out in three phases, the first of which began on Sunday and include a six-week halt of war, as well as 33 of the 100 hostages being released, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas of Gaza, freeing of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and an increase in humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.
The dozens of hostages have been held by Hamas since the initial attacks on a music festival in Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in Israel’s retaliation war with Hamas.
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