The first group of hostages walked free from Gaza on Friday on a day of high tension and profound relief – but also acute concern for the future after weeks of relentless violence in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Twenty-four hostages were released by Hamas – 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and a Philippine national – as part of a deal that has brought about a temporary pause in hostilities and includes the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
There was celebration in Israel and a day of relative calm in Gaza, where thousands have been killed and more than 1 million people displaced. But though the deal has raised hopes of a more durable ceasefire, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed he would not end Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas.
The 13 Israelis had reached their home country by early evening. Several were recognised by friends and neighbours from their kibbutz communities. They included very young children whose seven-week ordeal in captivity is finally over after they were abducted during bloody attacks launched by Hamas last month.
A total of 39 Palestinian prisoners – 24 women, including some convicted of attempted murder for attacks on Israeli forces, and 15 teenagers jailed for offences such as throwing stones – were also released by Israel on Friday evening. Some had not seen their homes for many years.
The four-day ceasefire marks the first break in seven weeks of war in Gaza and offers some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians who have endured intensive Israeli bombardment, as well as for families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during the attack that triggered the conflict.
Under the agreement, Hamas is due to free at least 50 of the approximately 240 mostly Israeli hostages it has held since launching attacks into southern Israel on 7 October in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed. In return, Israel will release at least 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow up to 300 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Netanyahu hailed the return of the Israeli hostages, among them an 85-year-old woman and a two-year-old girl.
“Each of them is an entire world. But I emphasise … we are committed to returning all the hostages. This is one of the aims of the war and we are committed to achieving all the aims of the war,” Netanyahu said.
Israel said it had received a list of hostages set to be freed by Hamas on Saturday following Friday’s release. Israeli security officials were reviewing the list, Netanyahu’s office said.
The ceasefire, initially lasting four or five days, was announced early on Wednesday and has raised hopes for a more durable pause in the violence.
The Israeli offensive on Gaza has killed more than 14,000 people, thousands of them children, according to Palestinian officials. More are thought to be buried under rubble.
Underlining the fragility of the four-day pause, an alert sounded in Israel 15 minutes after the ceasefire began at 7am, warning of a possible incoming rocket from Gaza targeting a village in southern Israel, followed by reports of the sound of artillery firing from Israel.
But through the morning and into the afternoon a relative calm seemed to have been established across much of Gaza.
In a surprise development, the Thai prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, said a number of Thai hostages had been released. They are thought to be farm workers who had been employed in communities around Gaza where Gelienor Pacheco, from the Philippines, was a carer.
The Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos, said he was “overjoyed” to confirm the release.
“He is now safely in the custody of officials in our Israel Embassy,” Marcos said on X (formerly Twitter). “I salute the work of the Philippine foreign service in securing his release, and once again thank the state of Qatar for their invaluable assistance in making Jimmy’s release possible.”
Marcos said the search for a second missing person was continuing.
Thailand’s ministry of foreign affairs said 10 Thai hostages had been released and their families had been notified.
“This group will stay in the hospital for at least 48 hours, while RTE [the royal Thai embassy] will make all the necessary arrangements for their travel back to Thailand and their families as soon as possible,” the ministry said in a statement.
The hostages were transferred out of Gaza and handed over to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing, accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“The deep pain that family members separated from their loved ones feel is indescribable,” said Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC’s regional director for the Near and Middle East. “We are relieved that some will be reunited after long agony.”
The Israeli military said the hostages had undergone an initial medical assessment inside Israeli territory.
The released hostages were then flown to medical facilities around Israel, where they would be reunited with loved ones. There was celebration among hostages’ families and supporters gathered in Tel Aviv.
“We couldn’t wait for the hours to pass,” said Corinne Moshe, the daughter-in-law of released hostage Adina Moshe, 72.
Her husband and his siblings were waiting at a hospital to reunite with their mother, she told Israel’s Kan public broadcaster.
Corinne’s son Erez said he was waiting to see his grandmother.
“I miss her very, very much. I want her to be back already. I want to have dinner with her and the entire family again.”
The Schneider Children’s Medical Centre said it was treating eight Israelis – four children and four women – and that all appeared to be in good physical condition, according to Associated Press. The centre said they were also receiving psychological treatment, adding that “these are sensitive moments” for the families.
The vocal campaign led by the families has been a significant factor in pushing Netanyahu to accept a deal with Hamas, an organisation he has sworn to “crush”.
“We hope the picture will be beautiful at the end of the day,” Ziv Agmon, a legal adviser to Netanyahu’s office, told reporters, adding that Israel would “follow the agreement”.
Ismail Haniyeh, the main political leader of Hamas outside Gaza, said in a recording on Friday that the Islamist group was committed to the agreement, struck after lengthy and complex talks mediated by Qatar, the US and Egypt, as long as Israel was committed as well.
In the occupied West Bank, families waited anxiously throughout the day for news of the prisoners due to be freed.
Two white coaches, escorted by armoured vehicles, were seen leaving the Ofer military camp in the West Bank during the early evening.
The Palestinian prisoners inside the buses were greeted by large crowds on reaching the Beitunia checkpoint, many of whom chanted “God is great”, and bursts of fire crackers lit up the night sky.
They included Malak Salman, who was arrested seven years ago for trying to stab a police officer in Jerusalem. Now 23, she was returned to her home in Beit Safafa, in annexed East Jerusalem, under Israeli police escort.
“The police are in our house and are stopping people coming to see us,” her mother, Fatina, said. “My daughter is weak, she has not eaten since yesterday.”
The exchange of female and child hostages and prisoners was initially scheduled for Thursday afternoon but was postponed as last-minute logistical issues were worked out during 24 hours of frantic diplomacy.
The agreement includes a halt to Israeli military flights over southern Gaza, with air activity over northern Gaza restricted to six hours a day. Israel has agreed not to arrest anyone in Gaza for the duration of the truce, according to a Hamas statement.
Reports suggest that if the first exchanges go well, and Hamas can locate more female hostages or children, there will be further releases on both sides. Some sources have suggested the ceasefire could last up to 10 days as a result.
Aid trucks began entering the Gaza Strip from Egypt about 90 minutes after the ceasefire began at 5am local time.
Humanitarian officials said the aid was a fraction of what was needed, and that there were robust procedures to prevent Hamas commandeering fuel and other basics, a concern voiced repeatedly by Israeli officials. An almost total blockade of Gaza by Israel had led to acute shortages of all essentials and “catastrophic” conditions, aid agencies said.
Medical facilities have been wrecked across the territory, and doctors have described trying to treat “overwhelming” numbers of seriously injured casualties with inadequate supplies.
Swaths of northern Gaza have been destroyed and up to 1 million people displaced. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, without presenting evidence for its count.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) told residents of Gaza the war was not over. “The humanitarian pause is temporary,” it said on social media. “The northern Gaza Strip is a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move north. For your safety, you must remain in the humanitarian zone in the south.”
A similar message was repeated in leaflets dropped over southern Gaza, where almost all Gaza residents are living after being told to leave the north, where fighting between the IDF and Hamas has been the most intense.
Despite the warnings, many joyful but wary Palestinians emerged from makeshift shelters in southern Gaza at the start of the ceasefire to attempt the long journey back to their homes in the north of the territory. Many found their way barred by Israeli troops.
The Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has described the ceasefire as “a short respite, at the end of which the fighting will continue intensely”.
“We will create pressure to bring back more hostages. At least another two months of fighting is expected,” he said.
Israel’s northern border with Lebanon was quiet on Friday, a day after Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, carried out the highest number of attacks in one day since fighting there began on 8 October.
The militant Islamist movement and militia is not a party to the ceasefire agreement, but was widely expected to halt its attacks.
Rebecca Ratcliffe contributed to this report
