17 Hostages Freed By Hamas On Way To Israel
By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that Hamas released 17 hostages, including 13 Israelis and 4 Thai citizens.
All were being brought to Israel late Saturday, officials confirmed.
The hostages were initially handed over to Red Cross representatives, who transported them to Egypt.
From there, they were to be flown to Israel, officials said.
In exchange, Israel was to free 39 Palestinians later Saturday as part of the deal that ultimately went through after international mediation efforts.
It came after a last-minute delay created a tense standoff on the second day of what’s meant to be a four-day cease-fire.
VETERAN PRISONERS
Hamas said not enough veteran prisoners were freed by Israel in the first swap on Friday.
They also claimed that not enough of the aid was reaching northern Gaza — the focus of Israel’s ground offensive and central combat zone.
The last-minute delay had created a tense standoff on the second day of what’s meant to be a four-day cease-fire.
Despite the setbacks, a total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be freed during the four-day truce between Israel and Hamas.
On Friday, 13 Israelis and seven foreigners were released in exchange for 39 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, Qatari and Egyptian mediators said