Hamas has handed captive Israeli soldier Agam Berger over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, the first of eight hostages set to be released today as part of a ceasefire in the enclave.
Hamas is due to release two more Israeli hostages as well as five Thai captives, and Israel is to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners, in the third such exchange since fighting paused earlier this month.
Ms Berger, 20, was abducted alongside four other female soldiers, who were freed on Saturday.
She was filmed emerging from a heavily damaged building, flanked by more than a dozen militants, before being handed to the Red Cross.
She was then driven to Israeli soldiers inside the Gaza Strip. A video from Ms Berger’s family home showed dozens of people celebrating as they watched her being released. The Israeli military confirmed shortly afterwards that Ms Berger had crossed the border back into Israel. She is believed to be heading to a reception centre in southern Israel where she will be reunited with her parents after more than a year of being held in Gaza.
The other Israelis to be released are Arbel Yehoud, 29 and Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man. There was no official confirmation of the identities of the Thai nationals.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a militant group in Gaza separate from Hamas, posted a video of Ms Yehoud and Mr Moses preparing for the exchange.
This is the third swap since the ceasefire was agreed nearly two weeks ago.
Of the people set to be released from prisons in Israel, 30 are serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former militant leader and theatre director who took part in a dramatic jailbreak in 2021 before being rearrested days later, is also among those set to be released.
Israel said Ms Yehoud was supposed to have been freed last Saturday and delayed the opening of crossings to northern Gaza when she was not. After an agreement, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, was pushed through late on Sunday to release her on Thursday, Israel opened the crossing, known as the Netzarim corridor, the following morning.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians then began returning to their homes in the north of the enclave, much of which has been destroyed by more than 15 months of war.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar, which brokered the ceasefire after a year of tough negotiations, resolved the dispute with an agreement that Ms Yehoud would be released Thursday. Another three hostages, all men, are set to be freed Saturday along with dozens more Palestinian prisoners.
