Hamas Releases First Three Israeli Hostages as Gaza Ceasefire Takes Hold

The Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas took effect Sunday morning, leading to Hamas releasing the first three hostages out of the 33 they’re expected to free in the first phase of the deal, which involves a 42-day truce.

The three female hostages were handed over to the Red Cross, which said they were in good health and transferred them to the Israeli military. The hostages made it back to Israel, and early Monday morning, Israel released 90 Palestinian women and children from the Ofer Prison in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in exchange.

Out of the 90 Palestinians who were freed, 78 of them are West Bank residents, while 12 will be transferred to Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.

In the occupied territories, Palestinians can be imprisoned without charges, which Israel calls “administrative detention.” Under the first phase of the ceasefire deal, Israel will release 30 Palestinians per civilian hostage and 50 Palestinians in exchange for female IDF soldiers.