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Demonstrators light flares as they gather during a protest calling for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday Oded Balilty/AP

First three hostages back in Israel as Gaza ceasefire takes hold

The ceasefire was delayed this morning after Netanyahu said he had not received the list of the hostages to be freed by Hamas.

LAST UPDATE | 19 Jan

THE FIRST THREE hostages released by Hamas have now returned to Israeli territory, Israel has said.

“A short while ago, accompanied by IDF and ISA forces, the released hostages crossed the border into Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a statement.

“The released hostages are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment.”

Earlier, the hostages were handed over to the Red Cross.

In a statement at around 3.15pm Irish time, a Hamas official said the three Israeli female hostages had been handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza.

Around the same time, the Israeli military also confirmed the handover of the three hostages, who then met IDF forces in the Gaza Strip.

A total of 90 Palestinian prisoners re due to be released by Israel following the release of the three hostages.

The ceasefire was delayed this morning after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had not received the list of the hostages to be freed by Hamas.

Hamas attributed the delay to “technical reasons”, as well as the “complexities of the field situation and the continued bombing”.

At around 10:30am (8.30am Irish time), Hamas published the names of three Israeli women set to be released.

Israel confirmed it had received the list and was “checking the details”, before confirming shortly afterwards that the truce would begin at 11:15am local time (9.15am Irish time).

Commenting after the ceasefire came into effect, outgoing Taoiseach Simon Harris welcomed the ceasefire, saying it “offers hope after a brutal 15 months of war”.

“Today, families will be reunited with their loved ones after being abducted and held hostage following the despicable Hamas attack on October 7, 2023,” he said.

“I urge both sides to respect the terms of the ceasefire agreement and to implement it in good faith. I welcome the release of the first three hostages.

The rest of the hostages must be released. They and their heartbroken families and friends have suffered for far too long. Their enforced captivity is completely unacceptable.

Harris said Gazans had “endured unimaginable hardship and trauma” and “must be allowed to return to their homes and to start to rebuild their lives”.

“There must be an immediate surge in the much-needed humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza. I welcome that the first UN aid trucks have begun to enter Gaza. This access must continue unimpeded and in increased volumes,” he said.

“The hope of this ceasefire must now be translated into efforts to secure a complete cessation of the fighting and to work towards a lasting peace. The way to bring about peace and stability to the Middle East is a two-state solution.

Ireland wants to see the State of Israel and the State of Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security. Ireland will play its part in supporting the international community to ensure this is the way forward.

First hostages freed

The first three Israeli hostages freed are Doron Steinbrecher, 31, Dual British-Israeli national Emily Damari, 28, and 24-year-old Romi Gonen.

Damari and Steinbrecher were seized by militants during the 7 October attack from kibbutz Kfar Aza, while Gonen was abducted from the Nova festival, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum told AFP.

Meanwhile, Hamas said it is awaiting a list of 90 prisoners to be released by Israel as part of the hostage-prisoner exchange on the first day of the ceasefire.

A total of 33 hostages taken by militants during Hamas’s 7 October, 2023 attack on Israel will be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce.

Under the deal, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will also be released from Israeli jails.

The truce is intended to pave the way for an end to more than 15 months of war sparked by Hamas’s attack, the deadliest in Israeli history.

It follows a deal struck by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of negotiations, and takes effect on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president.

But in a televised address yesterday, Netanyahu called the 42-day first phase a “temporary ceasefire” and said Israel had US support to return to war if necessary.

Released hostages

Romi Gonen, 24, from northern Israel, was among dozens captured when Hamas fighters ambushed the Supernova rave festival and killed 364 people on 7 October, 2023.

During the attack, from which she attempted to flee by car, Gonen phoned her mother Merav Leshem Gonen, who tried to comfort her above the din of explosions.

The car was later found empty and Romi’s phone was traced to Gaza.

She suffered hand injuries, according to her mother who said she received the information from freed hostages.

Emily Damari, 28, whose father is Israeli, was born in Israel after her British mother, Mandy, moved there.

She grew up in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz community near Israel’s southern border with Gaza.

Damari was at home there when Hamas gunmen stormed her house, injuring her hands and legs in the process.

Doron Steinbrecher, 31, is a veterinary nurse was also kidnapped from Kfar Aza.

On the day of the attack, Steinbrecher left a message for her parents telling them she had been abducted.

An Israeli-Romanian dual national, she appeared with two other hostages in a video released by Hamas in January, 2024.

“My life stopped on the 7 October,” her mother Simona Steinbrecher said in July. “I know she is alone there and I cannot help her.”

-With additional reporting from © AFP 2025 

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