Hamas releases the first three Israeli prisoners as the ceasefire takes effect in Gaza | News of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The first phase of the agreement is supposed to last 42 days and will witness the release of more prisoners.

The Israeli authorities confirmed that Hamas had surrendered The first three female captives With the entry into force of the ceasefire agreement in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army and the Shin Bet internal security service said in a joint statement on Sunday evening that Romi Gonen (24 years old), Emily Damari (28 years old), and Doron Steinbrecher (31 years old) were handed over to the Red Cross.

Red Cross vehicles set off from Gaza City in the heavily besieged northern part of the Strip after Hamas brought the prisoners to Saraya Square amid a mass gathering.

The ceasefire agreement is scheduled to be implemented in three stages and includes sending more humanitarian aid trucks to Gaza to alleviate the disaster in the Strip. The first phase lasts 42 days, with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from parts of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that he will continue the fight after some far-right lawmakers in his government, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, resigned in protest.

Thousands of Palestinians Celebrate the long-awaited ceasefire This would improve conditions in Gaza, after more than 15 months of deadly Israeli attacks that killed more than 46,000 Palestinians and left thousands missing.

Al Jazeera correspondent Ibrahim Al-Khalili from Saraya Square described scenes of joy among the crowds.

“They are very happy,” he added. “Celebrations are taking place everywhere after 15 months of war that destroyed everything. “This is a historic moment.”

It is expected that the prisoners will be immediately transferred to Israeli forces for identification, and then flown to a hospital in the central part of Israel. They will remain there for at least four days to undergo psychological and medical evaluations after being reunited with their families.

Israel’s prison services, as well as Israeli forces, reported this week how they were preparing to release the prisoners.

About 250 people were captured during the Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. About 100 remain captive in Gaza after others were released in late 2023 or their bodies were recovered, although it remains unclear exactly how many are alive. They are still alive.

Al Jazeera obtained a list of the names of 90 Palestinian prisoners who will be released in exchange for the three Israeli prisoners.

They are all from the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, and the list includes most of them women and a small number of children.

The list includes the name of Khaleda Jarrar, a leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the occupied West Bank. Others on the list include at least 12 young Palestinians, some under 19, and minors.

According to Al Jazeera’s Nidaa Ibrahim, several children and minors have been arrested on charges related to throwing stones at Israeli forces.

“We’re talking about light sentences,” she said. “The list of prisoners, hundreds of names released, most of them serving administrative detention, a tactic used by Israeli policy to keep people in prison indefinitely without charges. These administrative detentions are renewed again and again.”

Hours before the ceasefire went into effect, Israel announced that it had recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier who was killed in the war between Israel and Hamas in 2014 and whose remains have been held since then.