JERUSALEM/GAZA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Hamas began releasing three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross on Sunday, Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported, hours after a Gaza ceasefire took effect, marking the first of dozens expected to be freed under the agreement.
The Palestinian news agency SAFA reported that Hamas' military arm was delivering the three to the Red Cross in the area of Saraya Square in Gaza City.
The Israeli army released a statement without immediately commenting on media reports of their release, stating that military helicopters were "prepared for the process of receiving the hostages returning from the Gaza Strip" at the Gaza border and transporting them to a hospital outside Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources confirmed to Xinhua that the Red Cross team crossed the Netzarim checkpoint that separates the northern Gaza Strip from the south to receive the Israeli hostages.
Video footage widely circulated on social media showed the team traveling in four vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross, carrying its flags.
An Israeli official confirmed the names of the hostages: Emily Damari, 28, a British-Israeli; Doron Steinbrecher, 30, a veterinary nurse; and Romi Gonen, 23, abducted from the Nova music festival.
They will be transferred to the Red Cross and then to a military compound near the Gaza border before being transported to Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv, where they will reunite with their families. The hospital said isolated areas were prepared for them where they could begin recovering in privacy.
This marks the first release of hostages under the three-phase agreement that paused the fighting that began in October 2023. A total of 90 Palestinian detainees are set to be released from Israeli jails later on Sunday. Under the terms of the deal, 33 hostages will be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees in the first phase. ■
