January 30, 2025: Hamas is set to free more Israeli hostages and five Thai captives. Israel will release another 110 Palestinian prisoners. This is the third such exchange since the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold earlier this month.
The hostages to be released are Arbel Yehoud, 29 Agam Beger,20, and Gadi Moses an 80-year-old man. The identities, of the Thai nationals who will be released, have not been announced yet.
Many foreign workers were taken captive along with dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack set off the war.
The ceasefire aims to wind down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, which was sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The deal calls for Israel and Hamas to negotiate a second phase in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages and the ceasefire would continue indefinitely.
In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is set to release a total of 33 hostages, including women, children, older adults, and sick or wounded men, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the hostages to be released in this phase are dead.
The United States, Egypt, and Qatar, which brokered the ceasefire after a year of tough negotiations, resolved a dispute earlier this week over the sequence in which the hostages were released. The deal includes the release of the remaining 94 hostages, with 59 assumed to be alive and 35 dead.
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