The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video this Sunday (19) showing the prime minister’s reaction upon receiving the news of the release of three Israeli hostages by Hamas.
The three hostages were released by Hamas and returned to Israel hours after the ceasefire in Gaza came into force.
“They are coming out of the darkness into the light. They are moving from slavery to freedom,” Netanyahu told hostage and missing coordinator Brigadier General (Res.) Gal Hirsch.
Hirsch briefed Netanyahu by phone when Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari met with Israeli Army Forces in Gaza, according to the prime minister’s office.
The Army said the three Israelis were reunited with their mothers at a meeting point inside Israel, near the kibbutz and music festival near where they were kidnapped in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
The ceasefire agreement in Gaza will be implemented in three phases, the first of which will last 42 days.
Initially, 33 hostages held by Hamas and its allies since October 7, 2023 will be released – three were already released this Sunday (19). In return, Israel must release “hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel believes most of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the deal are alive.
Understand the conflict in the Gaza Strip
Israel has carried out intense airstrikes in the Gaza Strip since last year, after Hamas invaded the country and killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli counts. Furthermore, the radical group holds dozens of hostages.
Hamas does not recognize Israel as a state and claims Israeli territory for Palestine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly promised to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and recover people detained in Gaza.
In addition to the air offensive, the Israeli Army carries out land incursions into Palestinian territory. This caused much of Gaza’s population to be displaced.
The UN and several humanitarian institutions have warned of a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, with a lack of food, medicine and the spread of diseases.
This content was originally published in “Very emotional day”, says Netanyahu about the release of Israeli hostages on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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