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Take them home now!" the families of the captives, who have been held hostage by Hamas since their abduction on October 7, implored. Israel and the terror movement that controls the Gaza Strip agreed to a four-day pause in fighting and the gradual release of Israelis in exchange for convicted Palestinians. "The humanitarian pause will begin at 07:00 (05:00 GMT) on Friday," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said. 13 women and children, held in Gaza, will be released "around 16:00 (14:00 GMT) the same day". Up to 50 Israeli hostages will be freed during the four-day truce, and 150 Palestinians will be released from prisons.
On the eve of each release, the Israeli government will receive a list with the names of the freed hostages. In exchange, an Egyptian delegation will ensure that the list of Palestinian convicts handed over by Israel is "respected", AFP said, citing a security source. The Israelis will be handed over to their country's security officials, accompanied by the Red Cross and supervised by Egyptians, at the Rafah border crossing, the only one that does not lead to Israel. They will then be flown to Al-Arish airport, 40 kilometers from Rafah, and will fly to Israel.
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The freed hostages will then be taken care of by the Israeli medical services. They will be sent to one of six Israeli hospitals: Soroka, Sheba, Wolfson, Ichilov, Shamir or Schneider, Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, the director general of the Health Ministry, announced in a press conference on Wednesday, reports The Times of Israel. They will be placed in specific places to ensure better protection and appropriate care. Their medical records are compiled and handed over to the hospital that will receive them. Parcels with clothes, personal items or toys will also be at their bedside.
Initially, the media will be kept away from the hostages and their families. However, they will be able to grant interviews, if they deem it necessary.