Hostages freed by Hamas arrived in Israel on Friday night, the country's military announced, welcoming their "return home" as part of a deal with the Palestinian Islamic extremist movement.
"The army's special forces and Israeli intelligence services are currently holding the freed hostages" who "have undergone initial medical examinations on Israeli territory," an army statement said.
At the same time, it was reported that Israel released the first 39 Palestinian prisoners as part of the agreement reached this week with Hamas, after arduous negotiations and with the mediation of Qatar.
Four children and six elderly women are among the first group of 13 Israeli hostages freed Friday under a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to an official Israeli list.
Israeli policemen in Jerusalem, in front of the home of a Palestinian who would be released by Israel under the exchange agreement. Photo: REUTERS
Three girls and a boy, aged between two and nine, are on the list released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, as are six women over the age of 70. Eight of the 13 freed hostages belong to three family groups.
Among them are Emilia Aloni, 5, and her mother Danielle, 44, who are of Argentine origin.
The army pledged that it will continue to work with Israeli security agencies to ensure that "all hostages are returned to their homes."
"We reiterate the importance of demonstrating patience and sensitivity during this time out of respect for the freed hostages and their families," a military spokesman insisted.
It is the first batch of a total of 50 hostages to be released over the next four days in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners during a four-day truce in Gaza, according to the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas.
The Journey of the Freed Hostages
The Islamist group handed over the freed hostages on Friday - 10 Thais and one Filipino, in addition to the 13 Israelis - to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which took them to Egypt through the Rafah crossing.
Once in Egypt, Israeli security forces received the Israeli abductees and took them in military vehicles to Israel, where they entered through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The Red Cross handed over the abductees to the Israeli authorities after accompanying them on their way out of the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing.
The hostages, who have already been identified as the first step in the process, were being taken at night in ambulances to Kerem Shalom, a border crossing between Egypt and Israel, which also connects to the Gaza Strip, the same source added.
Several TV channels showed live the hostages leaving Rafah, where an elderly woman was seen waving to people gathered at the crossing.
Representatives of the families of the hostages and hundreds of Israelis, as they do every Friday, organized a Shabbat reception in memory of the more than 240 Hamas hostages in the center of Tel Aviv, attended by one of the ministers of the war cabinet, Benny Gantz.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, for its part, confirmed the "safe" transfer of 24 captives in the Gaza Strip.
The handing over of the first hostages after a month and a half of war is part of a deal between Israel and Hamas to release a total of 50 captives from the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners - both women and children - during a four-day truce.
Following the departure of the first 13 hostages from the enclave, Israel has released 39 Palestinian prisoners who were gathered hours earlier in Israel's Ofer prison, from where the ICRC will take them to a crossing with the West Bank, where they will be handed over to their families.
A total of 24 women and 15 adolescent boys have been released, all accused of terrorism, but not of blood crimes.
With information from agencies