Twenty-four hostages have been released after seven weeks held captive inside Gaza on the first day of a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.
It was a moment of joy after weeks of worry for some of the families of the 240 people kidnapped by the militant group during the 7 October attack on Israel when 1,200 people were killed. In exchange for the 13 Israelis freed – nine women and four children under 10 – Israel released 39 Palestinians, also a mix of women and minors, imprisoned in Israel’s jails as part of the four-day ceasefire deal. Ten Thai nationals and one Filipino were also freed by Hamas outside of that deal.
