Hamas releases 3 Israeli captives under Gaza ceasefire deal

Three Israeli hostages were released Sunday as part of a long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. They are the first of 33 that Hamas is expected to free during the first phase of the deal.

Facilitated by the Red Cross, the hostages were transferred to the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Authority just after 5:30 p.m. local time and crossed the border into Israeli territory shortly after that, those agencies said in a joint announcement. Both IDF special forces and ISA forces accompanied the freed hostages out of Gaza.

"The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the released hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel," the agencies said.

The hostages released were confirmed as 24-year-old Romi Gonen, 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher and 28-year-old Emily Damari. 

Israeli authorities said the freed hostages underwent initial medical evaluations at a reception point in southern Israel once they returned. After those checks, they boarded a military helicopter set to take them to other hospitals.

The IDF shared a video of the three women's mothers watching footage of their daughters' return from an Israeli soldier's phone at the reception point.

Israeli hostages reunite with family members after they were released by Hamas as part of a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and the militant group. IDF

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had endured a horrific ordeal.

"I know, we all know, they have been through hell. They are emerging from darkness into light, from bondage to freedom," he said.

"They appear to be in good health," President Biden said in brief remarks as they were arriving in Israel.

Brett McGurk, the Biden administration National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, said Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that he had spoken to his Israeli counterparts about the conditions of the hostages. 

"I know they're alive," McGurk said. "They've been held in deplorable conditions over 470 days, but the Israelis have a very good system to take them into their care, and they're going to get the care they need and be reunited with their families."

The ceasefire officially began earlier Sunday after a last-minute delay of almost three hours. The fighting continued past the initially provisioned 8:30 a.m. local (1:30 a.m. Eastern) deadline as the Israeli military said Hamas had failed to provide the names of the first three hostages due to be released, per the terms of the agreement.

In Gaza, fighter jets and drones were reported to have disappeared from the skies as the deal took effect, and at least 191 aid trucks were said to have begun entering into Gaza through the Karem Shalom crossing.

 Al-Qassam Brigades hands over 3 Israeli hostages to Red Cross at al-Saraya as part of 1st phase of ceasefire and prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza on January 19, 2025. Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images

The first phase of the ceasefire calls for Hamas to release 33 hostages over a six-week period. They include women, children and hostages over 50 years old, a draft viewed by CBS News said.

The plan says three living female hostages will be returned on Day 1. Four hostages will be released on Day 7, and the remaining 26 over the next five weeks.

The pause — the second in the 15-month-long war — was achieved through joint pressure from President-elect Donald Trump and the outgoing administration of President Biden.

McGurk said the deal was "not put together in the last week."

"It's a detailed, complex arrangement to leave nothing to chance," McGurk said. "And even up to last night, I was up until 4 o'clock in the morning, when this finally went into place to make sure that everything went according to the plan."

On Wednesday, Mr. Biden and Qatar's prime minister separately announced the deal after a week of intense negotiations mediated by Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump welcomed the impending release of the three hostages.

Israel set to release 90 Palestinian prisoners

Israel’s Prison Service also began on Jan. 19 to transfer 90 Palestinian detainees to Ofer Prison near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to be released under the ceasefire deal, local media said.

Israeli Channel 12 said the 78 prisoners would be released to the West Bank while the other 12 to East Jerusalem.

“They will only be freed after the arrival of the Israeli captives to Israel,” it added.

The list of prisoners to be released includes Khalida Jarrar, a leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and journalist Bushra al-Tawil, the daughter of Hamas leader Jamal al-Tawil, according to a joint statement by the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner Society, and the Prisoners' Media Office.

The list includes 69 female detainees, 20 children, and one young, the statement said, adding that the set-to-be freed prisoners do not include any detainees from Gaza.