The terrorist group Hamas released their first wave of hostages, beginning a four-day exchange that has paused the violence in Gaza.
Twenty-five hostages were transported out of Gaza via the Rafah border crossing on Friday, according to the Times of Israel, citing Israeli officials.
Twelve Thai nationals and 13 Israelis were released into the care of Red Cross personnel, who transported those rescued via ambulance from Gaza into Egypt. The Israeli hostages were then expected to be transported to Israel to receive care at various hospitals.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day ceasefire during which the terrorist group will release 50 women and children taken in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
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A Red Cross vehicle, as part of a convoy believed to be carrying hostages abducted by Hamas militants during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, arrives at the Rafah border, amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, as seen from southern Gaza Strip Nov. 24, 2023. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)
The hostages will be released over a 4-day period, beginning Friday, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Israeli leaders have vowed to resume the war once the cease-fire lifts.
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Israeli security forces stand next to ambulances waiting outside the helipad of Tel Aviv’s Schneider medical centre amid preparations for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners later in the day. (FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)
“Israel will continue its war on Hamas and we will not stop until we achieve our two main goals, overthrowing the rule of Hamas and returning all the abductees back to us, safe and sound,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Friday as he toured Israel’s ravaged border areas with his counterparts from Portugal and Slovenia.
Officials have floated the idea that the ceasefire can be extended another day for each additional group of 10 hostages released.
Hamas terrorists are believed to have taken some 240 people captive in the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel and are holding them in Gaza.
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People look at photographs of hostages, mostly Israeli civilians who were abducted during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Friday marks the start of a four-day cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, during which the Gaza militants pledged to release 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
To date, there have been more than 1,200 Israelis reported killed by Hamas, while the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health is claiming nearly 13,000 civilians have been killed from Israeli military activity in Gaza.
Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo, Lawrence Richard, Elizabeth Pritchett and Louis Casianio contributed to this report.
