HAMAS has begun releasing the next batch of hostages after keeping them in captivity for more than a year.
Israeli soldier Agam Berger was the first to emerge on a stage at the handover point in Khan Younis on Thursday morning.
The 21-year-old, who spent her birthday still under Hamas’ claws, was seen holding what appears to be a certificate and waving at the crowds.
Young Agam was surrounded by terrorists wielding their guns before she was finally handed over to the Red Cross.
Officials from the humanitarian organisation had to sign a form before receiving the young woman in twisted Hamas “formality”.
Arbel Yehud, 29, and Gadi Mozes, 80, will soon be released, along with five Thai captives, following a harrowing 15-month captivity below Gaza.
They are the third group of hostages to be freed from Hamas’ terror captivity as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel.
Red Cross vehicles arrived at one of the two handover locations earlier on Thursday morning in preparation for the release.
Some of the hostages will be released in Khan Younis, in the south, while others will be handed over up north in Jabalia.
It is now understood Agam has been transferred to the IDF.
A statement from the military revealed, “The freed hostage is currently under the protection of IDF elite forces and ISA [Israeli Security Agency] personnel as she returns to Israeli soil, where she will receive an initial medical evaluation.”
“The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the returning hostage as she makes her way home to the State of Israel.”
Arbel and octogenarian Gadi were both held captive by the military faction of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, marking the first instance during the truce that the terrorist organization is freeing individuals under its control.
A mere few days ago Israel accused Hamas of breaching the peace deal after the terror group released four women IDF soldiers instead of civilian hostage Arbel.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad had been falsely describing the 29-year-old as a soldier and demanding more prisoners to be released for her to be returned, Times of Israel reports.
But on Sunday, local media said that the Jihad group had agreed to classify Arbel as a civilian.
Hamas gave relief to Arbel’s family on Sunday, confirming that she is alive and safe.
Arbel was abducted alongside her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home during Hamas’s October 7 horror attacks that left over 1,200 people dead.
Her brother, Dolev Yehud, was killed by the terrorists while defending the kibbutz and his remains were identified last June.
Gadi Mozes, who is also to be released after being held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, was taken from Nir Oz during the October 7 massacre.
His partner, Efrat Katz, was tragically killed in the attacks, and his family have had no information on him since December 2023, where he appeared in a gut-wrenching Hamas propaganda video.
Agam Berger is also to be released today after she was abducted from the Nahal Oz outpost – only a couple of months after enlisting in the IDF.
The 21-year-old was seen in footage from the October 7 attack with blood smeared on her face – but it remains unclear whether it’s her own or belonged to fellow soldiers.
Today’s release will also see five Thai nationals escape their hostage hell after being kidnapped by Hamas in the same attack.
Their release is separate from the ceasefire deal between the terror group and Israel.
At least 31 Thai people were kidnapped during the heinous massacre, with six remaining alive in Gaza, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
The hostages have been named as Surasak Lamnau, Pingsa Nattapong, Bannawat Seathao, Sathian Suwankam, Sriaoun Watchara, and Pongsak Tanna.
In exchange for the hostages, Israel are to free Palestinian security prisoners, equating to 30 for each civilian and 50 for Agam Berger.
Israel is not freeing prisoners for the five Thai hostages, however, as that release appears under a separate agreement between Hamas and the Thai government.
RELEASED HOSTAGES
On Saturday, Karina Ariev, 20, Daniela Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Elbag, 19, were all handed over to the Red Cross by balaclava-wearing Hamas thugs.
The women were all captured as Israeli soldiers rather than innocent civilians caught in the horror October 7 massacre.
The four brave soldiers revealed to local media about life being held by Hamas – and how they took a brave step to humiliate their evil captors after their release.
The women were captured in footage acting calmly and confidently as they smiled and waved to crowds of gunmen and Gaza civilians.
One of the released hostages told Kan TV news: “We showed them on the stage that we were not fazed.
“It had no impact on us. We are stronger than them.”
Brit Emily Damari and fellow Israeli captives Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 were all also freed in the first exchange last Saturday.
Emily lost two fingers after being shot by Hamas during the October 7 attack on her kibbutz, Kfar Aza, where she was ambushed.
The reunion of the hostages with their families in southern Israel was a moment of raw emotion.
But before escaping terror hell, Emily, Romi and Doron were handed Hamas “gift bags” containing haunting mementos of their captivity.
The bags reportedly included photos of the women during their imprisonment and a so-called “certificate” – acting as a grim reminder of their 15-month nightmare in Gaza.
HOSTAGE DEATHS
Eight hostages due for release have been killed during their cruel imprisonment in Gaza, Hamas says.
The captives appear to have died in the tunnels beneath Gaza during their sick 15-month long detention after they were snatched on October 7, 2023.
Some 33 of around 90 hostages were set to be traded back to Israel as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal inked earlier this month.
Israel said it was informed of the eight deaths on Sunday night by Hamas when it was given a list of the 33 that would be released.
It is not yet clear who the eight deceased are as Israeli hostage families desperately cling on to hope.
Hamas claims the other 25 in the swap are still alive with the next release of hostages takes place on Saturday.
Seven in the group of 33 have already been returned home.
Families of the hostages have been left in an agonising wait to see whether their loved ones have survived.
BIBAS FAMILY HOPE
One of those families is the Bibas, who don’t know whether Kfir and Ariel, just two and five years old when they were snatched, are still alive.
The children, along with their parents Yarden and Shiri, are all on the list of are on the list of hostages to be released in the first six-week phase of the fragile ceasefire.
Relatives are yet to hear any news on whether the family could be dead or alive.
In a statement on Monday, the Bibas family said it still held on to hope.
They said: “We said then and we say now, we hold on to hope and await their return. We await certainty regarding their condition.
“The list that Hamas passed on to Israel regarding the status of the kidnapped is not a list of names and does not change our position. Neither a list of names, a Hamas statement, nor any video of this or that kind – are certain for us.”
Last year, Hamas claimed that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir had been killed in an Israeli air strike – something Israel has not confirmed.
The Bibas family said their “world came crashing down” after they saw that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were not on the list to be freed on Saturday.
The terms of the deal state children and female captives would be released first.
Israel accused Hamas of breaching the peace deal after the terror group released four women IDF soldiers instead of civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud.
In response, Hamas pledged to release two more woman, but did not again mention Shiri Bibas and her children.
DISPLACED PALESTINIANS
The first phase of the ceasefire runs until early March and will see 33 hostages released by Hamas and 2,000 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel.
The exchanged come as thousands of displaced Palestinians are returning home to the north of war-ravaged Gaza.
Israel had prevented Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the truce, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday they would be allowed to pass after a new agreement was reached.
Israel had said it would prevent Palestinians’ passage to the north until the release of Arbel Yehud, a civilian woman hostage who it maintained should have been freed on Saturday.
But Netanyahu’s office later said a deal had been reached for the release of three hostages on Thursday, including Yehud, as well as another three on Saturday.
Hamas had said blocking the return of Palestinians amounted to a truce violation.
Large crowds of people moved through the now-open Netzarim Corridor into the north, watched over by Israeli tanks.
Some pulled carts weighed down with mattresses and other essentials while others carried what belongings they could.
What happened on October 7?
ON OCTOBER 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel, marking one of the darkest days in the nation’s history.
Terrorists stormed across the border from Gaza, killing over 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and kidnapping 250 others, including women, children, and the elderly.
The coordinated assault saw heavily armed fighters infiltrate Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and military bases, unleashing indiscriminate violence.
Innocent families were slaughtered in their homes, and graphic footage of the atrocities spread across social media, leaving the world in shock.
And as well as attacking people in their homes, they stormed the Nova music peace festival – killing at least 364 people there alone.
The massacre triggered a swift and massive retaliatory response from Israel, escalating into a full-scale war.
The attack not only reignited long-standing tensions in the region but also left deep scars on both sides of the conflict, setting the stage for the 15 months of devastation that followed.
