That's good news. French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday welcomed the release of the first hostages by Hamas, assuring the families of the French held of his "determination" to secure their release, while no Frenchman was among the first group released as part of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
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I welcome the release of a first group of hostages (...) Special thoughts for the French hostages and their families. They can count on our determination," the President of the Republic wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "We remain mobilized alongside the mediators to secure the release of all," he added.
A total of 24 hostages, 13 Israelis, <> Thais and one Filipino, were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza on Friday by Hamas, Qatar, the main mediator in the conflict, said. Paris remains "mobilized for the release of French hostages as part of the agreement being implemented", that of "all our compatriots (being) an absolute priority for France, and we are working tirelessly to obtain it," insisted in a statement the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A truce in Gaza
The release of hostages by Hamas came as part of an agreement that allowed for a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip. The Quai d'Orsay also praised "the mediation efforts of Qatar, Egypt and the United States, as well as the ICRC, which made it possible to reach this agreement".
Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners, women and children, were released from prison in exchange for the hostages, reported the Prisoners' Club, an NGO that defends Palestinian prisoners. The truce in Gaza, which began at dawn, comes for the first time in seven weeks of war, after the relentless bombardment of the territory since October 7 in response to an attack by Hamas commandos infiltrated from the Palestinian territory. The Israeli military estimates that about 240 people were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.