As part of a truce with Israel, Hamas released 17 hostages in Gaza, including a 4-year-old American child, while Israel released 39 Palestinian inmates on the third day of the ceasefire.
The captives, who were 13 Israelis, 3 Thais, and 1 Russian national, were successfully transferred, according to Hamas, with assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The liberation of 39 Palestinians, all of whom are minors, coincided with the release of the hostages, who were part of a larger group taken prisoner when Hamas fighters stormed across southern Israel on October 7, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Hamas said that it would be willing to extend the ceasefire only if significant steps were done to increase the number of Palestinian prisoners that Israel releases.
As long as captives are being freed, US President Joe Biden stated that he wants the truce to stay in place. Reuters said that he acknowledged not having accurate information at the time, but he also voiced hope that Hamas would free other Americans. Biden said, 4-year-old Abigail Edan, the hostage, has been detained since she saw her parents slaughtered by Hamas gunmen during their invasion into Israel on October 7.
The four-day cease-fire is the first since Hamas re-entered Gaza with some 240 hostages and killed 1,200 people that there has been a pause in hostilities in seven weeks. Israel has pledged to carry out airstrikes, a land offensive in the north, and the elimination of Hamas fighters in control of Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas attack.
Gaza: Delays in Israel-Hamas Truce Agreement Raise Questions about End of War