More hostages arrive in Israel after delay over aid row

Gaza: Seventeen hostages, including 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals, have arrived in Jerusalem after they were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, the Israeli military says.

The Israeli authorities have also released 39 Palestinian prisoners, including six women and 33 children, from two prisons as part of the second batch of the exchange deal with Hamas, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported early on Sunday.

“After undergoing an initial medical assessment, they will continue to be accompanied by IDF soldiers as they make their way to Israeli hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families,” the Israel Defence Forces said.

The released Israeli hostages are Noam Or, aged 16, and Alma Or, 13; Shiri Weiss, 53, and Noga Weiss, 18; Sharon Hertzman Avigdori, 52, and Noam Avigdori, 12; Shoshan Haran, 67, Adi Shoham, 38, Naveh Shoham, 8, and Yahel Shoham, 3; Hila Rotem Shoshani, 12; Emily Toni Kornberg Hand, 8; and Maya Regev Jirbi, 21.

The Gaza hostage release deal was back on track on Saturday night (Israel time) after a row over aid supplies to the north of the besieged enclave was resolved, following mediation by Qatar and Egypt.

Red Cross representatives transferred the hostages to Egypt shortly before 9am AEDT. According to the information received by the IDF, 17 hostages were released, including 13 Israeli hostages and four Thai hostages.

Undated images of Noam Or, Emily Toni Kornberg Hand, Hila Rotem Shoshani and Shiri Weiss, who were freed from Gaza in the second round of hostage releases.

Thailand’s prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, said on Sunday the four freed Thai hostages were in “good health”, and could speak and walk normally.

“Everybody is safe, on the whole in good mental health and are able to speak normally,” he said on social media platform X of the release late on Saturday.

“They want a shower and to contact their relatives.”

A Palestinian official familiar with the diplomacy said Hamas would continue with the four-day truce agreed with Israel, the first break in fighting in seven weeks of war.

The armed wing of Hamas had earlier said it was delaying Saturday’s scheduled second round of hostage releases until Israel met all truce conditions, including committing to let aid trucks into northern Gaza.

Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said only 65 of 340 aid trucks that had entered Gaza since Friday had reached northern Gaza, which was “less than half of what Israel agreed on.”

Al-Qassam Brigades also said Israel had failed to respect the terms of the Palestinian prisoner releases. Qadura Fares, the Palestinian commissioner for prisoners, said Israel had not released detainees by seniority, as was expected.

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a member of Israel’s security cabinet, told Channel 13 News that Israel was “abiding by the deal” with Hamas that Qatar had mediated.

Shoshan Haran, Yahel Shoham and Alma Or were also released on Saturday.

Israel said 50 trucks with food, water, shelter equipment and medical supplies were deployed to northern Gaza under UN supervision, the first significant aid delivery there since the start of the war.

The row over the truce dented hopes of a smooth second day of hostage and prisoner releases after 13 Israeli women and children were freed by Hamas on Friday. Some 39 Palestinian women and teenagers were released from Israeli jails.

Israeli army spokesperson Olivier Rafowicz told French television Israel was strictly honouring the terms of the truce, and said the military had carried out no attacks or offensive operations in Gaza on Saturday.

Under the truce deal between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, a total of 50 hostages are to be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners, some of them convicted on weapon charges and violent offences, over four days.

In the first exchange on Friday, 13 Israeli women and children – out of around 240 hostages captured by Hamas fighters on a killing spree in southern Israel on October 7 – were released. Twenty-four jailed Palestinian women and 15 teenagers were released from Israeli jails.

The short-lived row over the truce accord’s implementation contrasted with scenes of joy earlier in the day as hostages were reunited with their families.

After almost 50 days in captivity in Gaza, nine-year-old Ohad Munder ran down a hospital corridor in Israel into his father’s arms, footage released by the hospital showed.

He and three other children released at the same time were in relatively good condition, Gilat Livni, the centre’s Director of Paediatrics told reporters.

“They shared experiences, we were up with them until late at night and it was interesting, upsetting and moving,” said Livni.

“I dreamt we came home,” said another hostage, four-year-old Raz Asher, as she sat in her father’s arms on a hospital bed after she and her mother and younger sister were freed.

Terms of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire

• All fighting in Gaza halts for four days.
• Hamas will release 50 women and children held as hostages.
• In exchange, Israel will release 150 Palestinian women and children from jail.
• The truce deal will allow hundreds of trucks of humanitarian, medical and fuel aid to enter Gaza.
• Israel to extend truce by an extra day for every additional 10 hostages released by Hamas.

“Now the dream came true,” her father, Yoni, replied.

Israel has said the ceasefire could be extended if Hamas continues to release hostages at a rate of at least 10 per day. A Palestinian source has said up to 100 hostages could go free.

Israel and Hamas have said hostilities would resume as soon as the truce ends, although US President Joe Biden said on Friday there was a real chance of extending the truce.

Reuters

More coverage of the Hamas-Israel conflict

• Hamas had bigger plans on October 7: Intelligence about Hamas’ motivations reveals an intention to strike a blow of historic proportions and provoke an overwhelming Israeli response.
• Escape from chaos: An Australian father faced a heartbreaking dilemma – whether to flee Gaza to his children, or stay with his wife.
• Open letters: Mass resignations, boardroom turmoil and angry donors are some of the ways the Israel-Hamas war is filtering down into Australia’s high-powered arts world.
• Gaza’s youth: One of the cruellest ironies of war is that they are never started by children, yet it is children who suffer the most.

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