Hamas hands over three Israeli women hostages as Gaza truce begins

The first three Israeli hostages were released Sunday under a long-awaited Gaza truce aimed at ending more than 15 months of war that has ravaged the Palestinian territory.

As the ceasefire took effect in the morning, thousands of displaced, war-weary Palestinians set off across the devastated Gaza Strip to return home.

Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari have been held in Gaza since they were kidnapped from Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Prime Minister’s Office confirms that Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, are in the hands of Israeli forces.

“The government of Israel embraces the three returnees,” the PMO says in a statement, adding that their families have been told that they are in Israeli hands. “The government of Israel is committed to returning all of the hostages and the missing.”

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The Government of Israel embraces the three women who have returned.

Their families have been updated by the relevant authorities that they are with our forces.

The Government of Israel is committed to returning all of the hostages and missing.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 19, 2025

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, in a press conference, says former hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher “are now in safe hands.”

“They are in our hands. They are coming home,” he says.

🟡 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: The 3 released hostages are currently being transferred to IDF and ISA forces in Gaza.

They are accompanied by IDF and ISA special forces upon their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 19, 2025

Israeli hostages released from Gaza reach hospital

The three Israeli hostages released from Gaza on Sunday arrived at Sheba hospital in central Israel, an AFP journalist reported.

Travelling in military helicopters and accompanied by their mothers, the three women, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher, landed at the hospital, where the army said the rest of their family members awaited them.

Gaza hostages reunited with their mothers

The Israeli military said the three women hostages freed by Hamas on Sunday as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal were reunited with their mothers inside Israel.

“The three returnees have just arrived at the initial reception point in the Gaza envelope area, and they are now meeting with their mothers,” said the military, which shared an image of released hostage Emily Damari alongside her mother smiling and waving with a heavily bandaged hand.

First photographs from the emotional meetings between the returnees and their families at the reception points in Israel. pic.twitter.com/98MPwh0zNX

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 19, 2025

Cheers and weeping as Israelis watch Gaza hostages return

Hundreds of people have gathered in Tel Aviv in what has been called “Hostages Square” to watch the news on large screens. For months, thousands of Israelis have gathered weekly at the square to demand a deal to bring everyone home.

The Israeli military shared video showing their families gathered in what appeared to be a military facility crying out in emotion as they watched footage of the handover to Israeli forces in Gaza before they were brought back into Israel.

“Their return today represents a beacon of light in the darkness, a moment of hope and triumph of the human spirit,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that represents some hostage families said.

Palestinian prisoners set for release include 69 women

Meanwhile, the 90 Palestinian prisoners set to be released Sunday in exchange for three hostages held by Hamas include 69 women, according to a list provided to The Associated Press.

The youngest is Mahmoud Aliowat, 15.

The prisoners to be released include Khalida Jarrar, 62, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist faction with an armed group that has carried out attacks on Israelis. New York-based Human Rights Watch said her repeated arrests are part of Israel’s wider crackdown on non-violent political opposition.

Dalal Khaseeb, 53, the sister of former Hamas second-in-command Saleh Arouri, is also on the list, which was provided by Hamas. Arouri was killed in an Israeli strike in a southern Beirut suburb in January 2024.

Also listed for release is Abla Abdelrasoul, 68, the wife of detained PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat who killed an Israeli Cabinet minister in 2001 and has been serving a 30-year sentence.