Gaza ceasefire kicks off as Hamas and Israel begin long-awaited prisoner swap

Report by Petra Abou Haydar, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

The Gaza ceasefire has come into effect, marking the start of a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel.  

On the first day of the deal’s initial phase, Hamas released three female hostages after providing the Israeli side with their names on Sunday morning.  

The hostages, all civilians, are Romi Gonen, 24 years old, captured from the Nova music festival on October 7; Emily Damari, 28 years old, taken from her home in the town of Kfar Aza, near the Gaza border fence; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 years old, also taken from her home in Kfar Aza.  

These individuals were civilians and not among the female soldiers captured from the observation post at Nahal Oz.  

The three hostages were transported in Hamas vehicles to Al-Saraya Square in Gaza, where they were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 

They were then transferred to the Re'im military base near Gaza and later, via military helicopters, to a hospital in Israel for medical and psychological evaluations and necessary care before reuniting with their families.  

In exchange for each Israeli hostage, 30 Palestinian detainees are expected to be released. On the first day of the exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners may be freed—69 women and 21 children under the age of 18—who were held in Israel’s Ofer Prison.  

Among the prominent Palestinian detainees are Khalida Jarrar, a leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); Adila Saadat, wife of PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Saadat; Fatima al-Arouri and Dalal al-Arouri, sisters of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri who was assassinated in Lebanon during the recent war; several journalists, including Bushra al-Tawil and Rula Hassanein; writer Israa Ghoneimat and other activists.  

With this exchange, Israel and Hamas would have completed the first day of the initial phase of the prisoner swap, with the next scheduled release of four Israeli hostages set for the seventh day. Every seven days, Hamas is expected to release three Israeli hostages.  

It is worth noting that the first phase of the prisoner exchange includes the release of 33 Israeli hostages—women (both civilians and soldiers), children under the age of 19 (provided that they are not soldiers), elderly individuals over 50, and injured or sick civilians—in exchange for Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons and detention centers.