Over a period of six weeks, 33 people that Hamas took hostage on October 7, 2023 are to be released. It will take place weekly with three to four people at a time. For this, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
As of Sunday morning, the outcome of the truce was still unclear as Israel announced it was being postponed. They had not received a list in advance from Hamas of which hostages would be released during the day, which was part of the agreement.
Hamas stated that “technical reasons” were behind it. According to Israeli sources, it took time to hand over the list as Hamas operates through proxies and must find a safe time and place.
Israel received the list around nine o’clock in the morning and the truce came into effect just over an hour later.
Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 have been held hostage by Hamas for 471 days. On Sunday, they were released and returned to Israel with the help of the Red Cross.
The youngest, Romi Gonen, was kidnapped during Hamas terrorist attack on the Nova music festivalwhen 364 people were killed and around 40 were taken hostage.
She was on the phone with her mother when terrorists from Hamas found her and the call was interrupted. The last thing mother Merav Gonen heard was shots and Romi calling for her, writes AP.
Neighbors in kibbutz
Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher were neighbors in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a kind of collective society. The women’s kibbutz was attacked by Hamas on October 7.
At twenty past ten, Steinbrecher called his mother.
– Mom, I’m scared. I hide under the bed and I hear them trying to get into my apartment, she said according to her brother, AP writes.
When she was taken away by the terrorists, she managed to send a voice message to her friends: “They took me”.
A total of 64 civilians and 22 soldiers were killed on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. 19 were taken hostage. After Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher were returned, Keith Siegel, 65, and twins Gali and Ziv Berman, 27, are still in Gaza.
In total, there are believed to be around 90 hostages left in Gaza. It is unclear how many are still alive.