Hamas militants have announced the names of the first three hostages who are set to be released from Gaza a few hours after the Islamist group’s ceasefire deal with Israel took effect on Sunday morning.
The hostages — who were abducted into the Gaza Strip during the October 7 terrorist attacks in 2023 — have been identified as Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Demari, 27, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31. All three hostages were released to the Red Cross, which will then deliver them to the Israeli Defense Forces.
“The released hostages are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment,” the military announced in a statement.
Crowds of Israeli citizens could be seen cheering in downtown Tel Aviv once the first phase of the ceasefire deal was honored nearly 15 months after the attacks — which consisted of indiscriminate killings of civilians and kidnappings — and subsequent conflict in Gaza.
The released hostages arrived home in Israel shortly after 11 a.m Eastern Time on Sunday, according to a follow-up statement from the IDF. They will then be transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv for an initial medical assessment.
According to a statement from the Red Cross, the hostages appeared to be in “good health” upon their release from Hamas captivity. “The condition of the three hostages is good, following an initial medical examination,” an unnamed Israeli official told CNN.
In exchange for the hostages — the first of 33 set to be released under the terms of the agreement — Israel will release more than 90 Palestinian prisoners who are serving life sentences in Israeli prisons for various offenses.
After the hostage deal took effect nearly two hours after its scheduled start time, President Biden announced that all hostilities have ceased in the Gaza Strip. Keeping with his tone in the days following the agreement , the president took credit for brokering it.
“The deal that I first put forward last May for the Middle East has finally come to fruition. The ceasefire has gone into effect in Gaza, and today, we’re seeing hostages being released, three Israeli women held against (their) will in the dark tunnels for 470 days,” Biden said. “After so much pain, destruction, loss of life, today, the guns in Gaza have gone silent,” he added.
Mandy Damari, the mother of one of the hostages freed on Sunday morning, thanked President-elect Donald Trump for freeing the hostages and securing a ceasefire deal. “President-elect Donald Trump, you have really made my dream come true,” Damari, a British national, told the Daily Mail in a video statement.
“But it’s not over. My dream is still going on until I see Emily and all of the other 98 hostages back in Israel with their families. I just want to thank all the mediators and negotiators and anyone else who’s been connected to thank you from the bottom of my heart. But it’s not over yet. Emily and the other 98 hostages are still not here,” she added just a few hours before her daughter returned home. “And we need to get them home as soon as possible and keep them alive until they are here. Thank you once again.”
President Biden told reporters on Sunday that he is glad his administration and the incoming Trump Administration were able to “speak as one voice” in order to free hostages and broker a ceasefire deal in the final days of his term.
“I was pleased to have our team speak as one voice in the final days,” Biden said. “It was both necessary and effective and unprecedented, but success is going to require persistence and continuing support for our friends in the region, and the belief in diplomacy backed by deterrence,” he said.
Under the terms of the deal, Hamas is expected to release 33 of the remaining 98 Israeli hostages in Gaza. Civilians will also be able to return to their homes in their territory, a process that was underway as of Sunday morning, while significant amounts of humanitarian aid will be allowed to enter Gaza.