Hamas Releases Names Of Hostages As Ceasefire Was Supposed To Start

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

GAZA CITY/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Hamas named the three hostages it planned to release Sunday, more than two hours after the ceasefire in Gaza was supposed to have begun. Israel had earlier made clear it would keep fighting until it received the names.

Hamas said the female hostages due to be returned home are Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31. Steinbrecher was incorrectly named “Shtanbar Khair” in the message delivered by the Hamas military wing’s channel on the social media platform Telegram. Israel has not yet confirmed the list given by Hamas.

Damari and Steinbrecher were abducted from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, while Gonen was taken from the Nova festival by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that Hamas had not lived up to its commitment to provide the names of the three hostages it was set to release in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.

However, he later stressed that the ceasefire would start at around 11:15 am local time.

It came as Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu’s hardline national security minister, resigned after he threatened last week to quit if the government ratified the ceasefire deal, which it eventually did.

Under the accord, Israel will release 30 Palestinian detainees for every civilian hostage and 50 Palestinian detainees for every Israeli female soldier Hamas releases, Israeli sources said.

Hostages expected to be freed in the first phase are those who fall under the humanitarian category, such as women, children, elderly, or wounded, Worthy News learned.

The accord is an attempt to end a war launched by Hamas that has killed thousands. More than 46,000 Palestinians died in Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to Hamas-controlled authorities, though Israel says nearly half of those killed were Hamas fighters.

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