Israel has obtained a list of hostages to be freed from Gaza on Saturday by Palestinian group Hamas, officials said, after the release of 24 hostages the last day, the first of a planned four-day truce.
Israeli security officials were reviewing the list, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, following his government vowing to work for the release of all hostages taken by Hamas in an October 7 attack.
The halt in the fighting was the first such break, with both sides saying the fight would continue as soon as the truce ended. US President Joe Biden voiced hope the halt could be extended, however.
The released hostages, including Israeli women and children and Thai farm workers, were moved from Gaza and handed to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing, along with eight staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross in a four-car convoy, the organization said.
They were then taken to Israel for medical checks and reunions with families.
Qatar, which worked as a mediator for the truce deal, said 13 Israelis had been released, some with dual nationality, as well as 10 Thais and a Philippine national-farm worker employed in southern Israel when they were seized.
39 Palestinian women and children were released from Israeli jails. The released Israeli hostages included four children accompanied by four family members and five elderly women.
Biden said there was a real chance of expanding the truce, adding that the pause was a crucial opportunity to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.
He refused to speculate how long the Israel-Hamas war would last.Â
Questioned at a press conference what his expectations were, he said Israel’s plan of eliminating Hamas was legitimate but difficult.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said 196 trucks of humanitarian aid carried food, water, and medical supplies through the Rafah crossing on Friday, the largest such convoy into Gaza since Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of the territory.
Nearly 1,759 trucks have entered the narrow enclave since October 21, it added.
The relatives of the hostages voiced mixed emotions, worrying for those left behind.
“I’m excited for the families who today are going to hug their loved ones,” Shelly Shem Tov, the mother of Omer Shem Tov said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, although he was not among those released on Friday.
“I am jealous. And I am sad. Mostly sad that Omer is still not coming home.”
Israeli calculations show Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people in the October attack and took about 240 hostages. Since then, Israel has showered bombs on Gaza, killing about 14,000 Gazans, approximately 40 percent of them children, Palestinian health authorities say.
Hundreds of thousands of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have escaped their homes, including most of those in its northern half.
After initial medical checks, the freed hostages were taken to be reunited with their relatives. Medical authorities said they seemed to be in good physical condition and were facing more evaluations.
Roni Haviv, a relative of Ohad Munder, said she was looking forward to presenting the nine-year-old with his favorite toy.
“I’m waiting to see Ohad and can’t wait to give him his Rubik’s Cube, which I know he really loved and he probably missed it so much, and that’s the first thing he takes everywhere he goes,” she said.
Those released on Friday were exchanged for 24 imprisoned Palestinian women and 15 teenagers. In at least three cases, before the prisoners were released, Israeli police raided their families’ homes in Jerusalem, witnesses said.
Police refused to comment.
“There is no real joy, even this little joy we feel as we wait,” said Sawsan Bkeer, the mother of 24-year-old Palestinian prisoner Marah Bkeer, imprisoned for eight years on knife and attack charges in 2015.
Israeli police were seen raiding her Jerusalem home before her daughter was released.
“We are still afraid to feel happy and at the same time, we do not have it in us to be happy due to what is happening in Gaza,” she added.
A source reported on the talks said the release of the Thai workers was not related to the truce talks and followed a different track mediated by Egypt and Qatar. Thailand’s government said 20 of its nationals are still in captivity.
