Israel-Hamas truce holding after first hostage-prisoner swap

JERUSALEM: A fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was holding on Monday (Jan 20), following the dramatic exchange of three hostages for 90 Palestinian prisoners in an agreement aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in Gaza.

The three hostages released on Sunday, all women, were reunited with their families and taken to hospital in central Israel where a doctor said they were in stable condition.

Hours later in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian prisoners released by Israel left Ofer prison on buses, with jubilant crowds celebrating their arrival.

As the ceasefire took effect, thousands of displaced, war-weary Palestinians set off across the devastated Gaza Strip to return home.

The truce began on the eve of the inauguration for a second term as US president of Donald Trump, who has claimed credit for the agreement after months of fruitless negotiations.

In the northern area of Jabalia, hundreds streamed down a sandy path, heading to an apocalyptic landscape piled with rubble and destroyed buildings.

"We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it's our home," said Rana Mohsen, 43.

The initial 42-day truce was brokered by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt.

It should enable a surge of sorely needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, as more Israeli hostages are released in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.

Under the agreement, Israeli forces should leave some areas of Gaza as the parties begin negotiating the terms of a permanent ceasefire.

REUNITED

The three hostages, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, were taken back to Israel by security forces after Hamas fighters handed them over to the Red Cross in a bustling square in Gaza City, surrounded by a sea of gunmen in fatigues and balaclavas.

"After 471 days Emily is finally home," said her mother Mandy Damari, but "for too many other families the impossible wait continues".

Steinbrecher's family said in a statement that "our heroic Dodo, who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, begins her rehabilitation journey today".

In Tel Aviv, there was elation among the crowd who had waited for hours for the news of their release.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group hailed their return as "a beacon of light", while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had emerged "from darkness".

During this initial truce, 33 Israeli hostages, 31 of whom were taken by militants during Hamas's Oct 7, 2023 attack, are due to be returned from Gaza in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians.

Of those, more than 230 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis will be deported, according to a list made public by Israeli authorities.

Two Hamas officials said the prisoners would be deported mainly to Qatar or Türkiye.

The Israel Prison Service confirmed the release of 90 prisoners early Monday.

In the town of Beitunia, near Ofer prison, Palestinians cheered and chanted as buses carrying them arrived, with some climbing atop and unfurling a Hamas flag.

"All the prisoners being released today feel like family to us. They are part of us, even if they're not blood relatives," Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23, told AFP.

The next hostage-prisoner swap would take place on Saturday, a senior Hamas official told AFP.

"More families are waiting anxiously for their loved ones to come home," said International Committee of the Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric, calling on all sides to "adhere to their commitments to ensure the next operations can take place safely".

"NOTHING LEFT"

Minutes after the truce began, the United Nations said the first trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid had entered the Palestinian territory.

UN relief chief Tom Fletcher said 630 trucks had entered into Gaza, with 300 of them headed to the north of the territory.

The truce is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war, but a second phase has yet to be finalised.

Thousands of Palestinians carrying tents, clothes and their personal belongings were seen going home on Sunday, after the war displaced the vast majority of Gaza's population of 2.4 million.

In Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, Umm Hasan al-Buzom, 70, said she would even "crawl my way back home" if needed.

"COMMITMENT"

The World Food Programme said it was moving full throttle to get food to as many Gazans as possible.

"We're trying to reach a million people within the shortest possible time," said its deputy executive director, Carl Skau.

Netanyahu has called the first phase a "temporary ceasefire" and said Israel had US support to return to the war if necessary.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said its adherence to the truce would be "contingent on the enemy's commitment".

The war's only previous truce, for one week in November 2023, also saw the release of hostages held by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas's Oct 7 attack, the deadliest in Israel's history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage, 91 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that the death toll in the war between Israel and Hamas had reached 46,913.