By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

The Long Awaited Release Hostages

After 254 people (included children), were abducted by Hamas from Israel to the Gaza Strip where they were held underground. Today 3 Israeli women in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners were let go and arrived back in Israel today. Day two of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

The long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza entered its second day on Monday, following the return of the first Israeli hostages and the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners.

The images of Emily Damari (a dual British-Israeli national), Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, the first released hostages, overwhelmed by tears and joy as they were reunited with their families have given Israelis a glimpse of what they’ve been craving: relief, more than 15 months after the worst attack in their history.

In the pictures of their release last night, it was clear that Emily Damari had lost two of her fingers, after she was shot by Hamas on the day she was abducted.

The hospital in Tel Aviv where they’re staying says they will remain for several days for evaluation. It will certainly include psychological and trauma counselling, as well as medical tests.

But the other images of their release, surrounded by Hamas fighters as they were driven through Gaza, also stand out.

The transfer of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners on Sunday was a “complex” operation requiring “rigorous security measures,” according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

As a neutral humanitarian body, the ICRC facilitates the safe transfer of hostages and detainees. Its specialized staff include doctors who are on-hand to provide care as needed.

An ICRC aid worker escorts Israeli former hostage Doron Steinbrecher during the handover from Hamas in Gaza

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, vowed the “total annihilation” of Hamas. Yet even though it’s been severely weakened, Hamas is still standing.

That could have domestic political consequences for Netanyahu – and illustrates that the group wants a stake in the future of Gaza.

Hundreds of aid trucks crossed into Gaza on Sunday, and thousands more are waiting to ramp up the distribution of desperately needed supplies into the Palestinian enclave, much of which lies in total devastation after 15 months of war.

Prominent Palestinian political leader and activist Khalida Jarrar was among the dozens of prisoners released Sunday as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Jarrar, a former lawmaker, is a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular, nationalist entity, dating back to the 1960s. It is the second-largest faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization after Fatah and calls for the liberation of all of historical Palestine.

The European Union, the United States and Israel designated the PFLP a terrorist organization after attacks on Israeli targets. Jarrar was not implicated in the attacks. The Israeli military acknowledged in 2021 that she “did not deal with organizational or military aspects of the organization,” according to the Associated Press.

Video from Reuters news agency on Sunday showed Jarrar inside a Red Cross bus transporting Palestinian prisoners out of Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.

Later, photos showed Jarrar embracing family as she arrived in Ramallah early on Monday.

Jarrar has been arrested multiple times by Israel over her decades of activism. In 2015, she was sentenced to 15 months on charges of incitement and membership in the PFLP, according to the AP. But much of that time, Jarrar has been held in administrative detention, the AP reported, meaning she has not faced public charges or been put on trial.

The ex-wife of a hostage still held by Hamas in Gaza said her family remains hopeful he will be released in the coming weeks following the “amazing moment” when three freed Israeli women were reunited with their loved ones.

Five members of Hadas Kalderon’s family were kidnapped during Hamas’ attack on Kibbutz Nir Or on October 7, 2023. Her mother and niece were killed, while her daughter, Saha, and son, Erez, were held for more than 50 days before they were released in November 2023.

Kalderon’s ex-husband, Ofer, remains in captivity, and although there has not been much information about him “for a long time,” Kalderon said her family are optimistic for their own reunion.

Hundreds of aid trucks crossed into Gaza on Sunday after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, as residents spent their first night without Israeli airstrikes in more than a year.

Over 15 months of Israeli bombardment has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave, triggering a humanitarian disaster marked by hunger, disease and a lack of medical care.

The ceasefire allows for a dramatic uptick in humanitarian relief to enter Gaza, but the United Nations has warned that would be “only a start.”

Hundreds of Palestinians cheered, thronging two Red Cross buses as they arrived in Beitunia in the occupied West Bank on Monday. Many of the women and teenaged boys released by Israel had been recently detained and not tried or convicted.

Across Gaza, where the fighting has killed tens of thousands and forced most people from their homes, the first day of the ceasefire brought relief and sorrow. With Israeli forces already pulling back from some areas, many families set off for home, finding widespread destruction and bodies in the streets.

The deal brokered by the US and regional mediators has raised hopes of an end to the devastating war and the return of the nearly 100 remaining hostages held by Hamas.

But there is still great uncertainty – with major questions remaining about whether the fighting will resume after the initial six-week stage, and what the future holds for Gaza.

A freed Palestinian prisoner greets her child after her release from an Israeli jail

Hundreds of Palestinians cheered, thronging two Red Cross buses as they arrived in Beitunia in the occupied West Bank on Monday. Many of the women and teenaged boys released by Israel had been recently detained and not tried or convicted.

Across Gaza, where the fighting has killed tens of thousands and forced most people from their homes, the first day of the ceasefire brought relief and sorrow. With Israeli forces already pulling back from some areas, many families set off for home, finding widespread destruction and bodies in the streets.

The deal brokered by the US and regional mediators has raised hopes of an end to the devastating war and the return of the nearly 100 remaining hostages held by Hamas.

But there is still great uncertainty – with major questions remaining about whether the fighting will resume after the initial six-week stage, and what the future holds for Gaza.

Palestinian freed prisoners wave to the crowd from a Red Cross bus that drove them out of the Israeli Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank, as they arrive in Beitunia, on the outskirts of Ramallah, in the early hours of Monday

The ex-wife of a Jewish hostage still held by Hamas in Gaza said her family remains hopeful he will be released in the coming weeks following the “amazing moment” when three freed Israeli women were reunited with their loved ones.

Five members of Hadas Kalderon’s family were kidnapped during Hamas’ attack on Kibbutz Nir Or on October 7, 2023. Her mother and niece were killed, while her daughter, Saha, and son, Erez, were held for more than 50 days before they were released in November 2023.

Kalderon’s ex-husband, Ofer, remains in captivity, and although there has not been much information about him “for a long time,” Kalderon said her family are optimistic for their own reunion.

“It’s like a miracle,” Kalderon after the first of 33 captives to be released by Hamas and its allies over the next six weeks returned to Israel.

“It’s very complicated because it’s like a big, big joy and happiness, but also a lot of fears and worries that it will keep on and that we must remember that we have to bring all of them back, all the hostages.”

A wing of Sheba Hospital, Israel’s largest, where the first released hostages have just spent their first night of freedom. Their families stayed with them here overnight, where they’ve been given private rooms with living rooms, along with a chef to cater to what they want.

After an initial assessment last night, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher will undergo comprehensive medical tests today, along with psychological assessments.

Doron Steinbrecher embraces loved ones, in this photo released by the Israeli government yesterday.

Sheba Hospital deals with the majority of Israeli soldiers returning from Lebanon and Gaza, so they have extensive experience of dealing with such injuries and worse - and she’ll be given the necessary orthopaedic care during her stay.

Sheba Hospital deals with the majority of Israeli soldiers returning from Lebanon and Gaza, so they have extensive experience of dealing with such injuries and worse - and she’ll be given the necessary orthopaedic care during her stay.

 Supporters and relatives of Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip, demonstrate calling for an immediate end of the war and return of all the hostages, in Tel Aviv on Sunday

The head of the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency said its teams “reported a good first day of the ceasefire” with aid and some commercial supplies “flowing in smoothly.”

“After 470+ days, the people of Gaza hear the sound of children playing instead of bombardments and airstrikes,” UNRWA commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said on X Monday.

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid arrive in the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday.

 

Conclusion

The ceasefire in Gaza happens amid, and in part was only possible because of, dramatic changes in the Middle East that isolated Hamas and eroded the influence of Iran, the group’s main supporter, in the region.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah, once the main player in what Tehran calls the Axis of Resistance, was significantly weakened after its war with Israel, with its leadership decimated.

In recent days, it has also seen its political power diminish, with the arrival of a president and a prime minister supported by the US and Saudi Arabia and not aligned with the group.

Hezbollah’s setbacks were a key factor that helped Turkish-backed Islamist rebels topple Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive here in Syria last month. This put an end to a five-decade dictatorship that was backed by Iran and gave it a land corridor to arm Hezbollah next door.

The Houthis, an Iranian proxy, have been repeatedly targeted by Israel and a US-led coalition in Yemen.

 

 

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