After 482 days

Hamas releases additional Israeli hostages

(Bild: APA/AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

As part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas, Islamist fighters in the Gaza Strip have released seven more hostages. The two Israelis and five foreigners were handed over to the Red Cross, the Israeli army said on Thursday afternoon. Earlier in the day, the Israeli soldier Agam Berger had already returned to Israel after being held hostage for more than 15 months.

A television broadcast had previously shown chaotic scenes - in the dense crowds in Khan Younis, it was not clear what was happening to the aid organization's white vehicles. According to media reports, the two German-Israeli hostages Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses had to walk through a huge, densely packed and loudly shouting crowd.

They were accompanied by armed and masked Islamists. Israeli television commentators spoke of a "Via Dolorosa".

The five foreigners who were also released are said to be Thai. No Palestinian prisoners will be released for the five Thai hostages. Israeli media reported that they were released as part of an agreement between Hamas and Thailand.

Israeli soldier already reunited with family
Meanwhile, the Israeli army has announced that Agam Berger is already in Israel. She was brought to Israel by special forces of the army and the secret service and will first be taken to a meeting point in the south of the country, where she will meet her parents.

She will then undergo an initial medical examination. Berger is to be taken to a hospital where four other female soldiers who were released on Saturday are already being held. Her family watched the ceremony on television and reacted with enthusiastic cheers at the sight of the young woman.

The released hostages will initially be taken to an Israeli military camp on the edge of the Gaza Strip and from there to four different hospitals in Israel. In return, 110 Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli prisons.

After being kidnapped and held captive, the hostages still had to go through the ordeal of being smuggled through numerous Hamas fighters.(Bild: APA/AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Good face? The last moments in captivity - this is how the hostages are staged one last time.(Bild: APA/AP/Mohammed Hajjar)

Palestinian prisoners are released in return
More than 30 of the 110 prisoners are said to have been sentenced to life imprisonment. According to Israeli media reports, they include Zakaria Zubeidi, who was commander of the military arm of the Fatah movement in Jenin in the northern West Bank during the second Palestinian intifada. Between 2000 and 2005, around 3,500 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,000 Israelis lost their lives in attacks by Palestinians.

A few years ago, he and other prisoners escaped from an Israeli high-security prison through a tunnel, but were recaptured. According to the media, Mahmoud Atallah, who is serving a life sentence plus 15 years for the murder of a Palestinian woman accused of collaborating with Israel, is also to be released.

Hostage deal provides for the release of a total of 33 hostages
The agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which came into force on January 19, provides for 33 Israeli hostages to be released within six weeks in exchange for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners in an initial phase. Three civilians and four female soldiers have already been released as part of the agreement. Further hostages are to be released on Saturday. The list of remaining hostages who are also to be released includes the Austrian-Israeli dual national Tal Shoham.