Gaza Ceasefire Highlights: 3 Israeli Hostages Return Home After 15 Months; 90 Prisoners To Be Released

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) released a footage that showed the return of the three hostages who were released by Hamas today as part of a ceasefire deal.

The three released hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, along with their mothers, have been taken to a hospital via an Israeli Air Force helicopter where they will meet the rest of their families and receive medical care.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) lauded the return of three hostages – Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher – after 471 days in Hamas captivity. The three hostages have been reunited with their mothers at an IDF facility near Gaza.

“Today, as part of these ongoing efforts, we welcomed home three hostages—three young women—after 471 days in Hamas captivity…Today, we salute and embrace them and their families as they reunite after so long,” said IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) released a photo of hostage Emily Damari after she was reunited with her mother Mandy at a military facility near the border.

“Emily is finally back where she belongs—safe in her mother’s arms, still smiling and stronger than ever,” the IDF said.

Former Israeli hostage Emily Damari’s mother Mandy expressed gratitude as her daughter was released from Hamas captivity in Gaza after more than 15 months.

“While Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over, for too many other families the impossible wait continues. Every last hostage must be released, and humanitarian aid must be provided to the hostages who are still waiting to come home,” she said in a statement.

Emily Damari, one of the hostages released from Gaza today, was seen reuniting with her family on a video call after meeting with her mother at an IDF facility near the Gaza border, as per images uploaded on social media.

The images show a bandage on Emily’s hand after she was wounded during the October 7, 2023, onslaught. She lost two fingers during her captivity, as per local reports.

The father of Romi Gonen, one of the three hostages freed today from Hamas captivity as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, was seen celebrating the return of his daughter to Israel after 471 days.

The Palestinian militant outfit Hamas handed over three Israeli women hostages to the IDF (military) through the Red Cross on Sunday, pausing a 15-month-old war that has brought devastation in the Middle East.

Relatives of the three Israeli hostages jumped, clapped and wept on their return home after a long 15 months. Israel’s military has released footage of relatives watching the three released hostages meeting military representatives after being released.

“This is an exciting day,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, and told the freed women that “an entire nation embraces you.”

The three Israeli hostages released today by Hamas will stay at the Safra Children’s Hospital at the Sheba Medical Center in the coming days and perhaps weeks. They will be checked by a special medical staff and looked after by support personnel, The Times of Israel reported citing the hospital.

Mandy Damari, mother of British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari freed on Sunday said her daughter’s “nightmare in Gaza is over” and her daughter is “home”.

“I want to thank everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal, and who never stopped saying her name… Thank you for bringing Emily home,” her mother said in a statement shared with AFP.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday welcomed the release of three Israeli hostages, including British-Israeli Emily Damari, as “wonderful and long-overdue news after months of agony for them and their families”.

“While this ceasefire deal should be welcomed, we must not forget about those who remain in captivity under Hamas”, Starmer said in a statement calling for the remaining phases of the truce to be implemented “in full and on schedule”.

Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida hailed Palestinian resistance following a ceasefire with Israel and vowed to focus all efforts on “containing” the Israeli enemy and urges mediators to compel Israel to commit to the ceasefire deal. He said the agreement could have reached a year ago if not for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We and the resistance factions declare our full commitment to the ceasefire agreement, while stressing that all of this is contingent on the enemy’s commitment,” he was quoted by AFP as saying.

UN Chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday welcomed the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, after three Israeli hostages returned back after 15 months.

“We stand ready to support this implementation & scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief to the countless Palestinians who continue to suffer. It is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security & political obstacles to delivering aid,” Guterres said.

Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher have reunited with their mothers at a military facility near the border with Gaza after they were freed by Hamas today. They will undergo an initial medical assessment at the facility before they are taken to hospitals to meet the rest of their families.

Families and friends of some of the 90 Palestinians prisoners set to be released from Israel in exchange for hostages in Gaza gathered in Ramallah. People honked cars waved the Palestinian flag in anticipation of the prisoners.

About 90 Palestinian prisoners, including 69 women, from the West Bank and Jerusalem will be released Sunday after Hamas freed the three Israeli hostages.

French President Emmanuel Macron told Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas that a return to Palestinian governance was needed in Gaza after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Macron’s office said on Sunday.

Macron spoke to Abbas on Saturday and said the truce should “fully incorporate the Palestinian Authority” and that Gaza’s future should be aimed at the creation of a Palestinian state, while ensuring that an incident like October 7 is not repeated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraced the return of three women who were held captive by Hamas for more than 470 days. “The Government of Israel embraces the three women who have returned,” said Netanyahu’s office in a statement.

“Their families have been updated by the relevant authorities that they are with our forces. The Government of Israel is committed to returning all of the hostages and missing,” it added.

The IDF releases footage showing the families of former hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher celebrating during the moments when they were handed over to troops in the Gaza Strip.

The mothers of three Israeli hostages – Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher – were seen at a military facility where they will be reunited shortly. The mothers of the former hostages are seen alongside the head of the IDF Personnel Directorate Major General Dado Bar Kalifa, watching their daughters return to Israel.

At least 2,000 people at the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv burst into applause and cheers as the three Israeli hostages crossed over into Israeli territory after 15 months. During breaks in the news broadcast on a large screen in the Square, the crowd chanted to bring back “Everyone — now!”, reported The Times Of Israel.

US President Joe Biden said the “guns of Gaza have gone silent” as a ceasefire deal he outlined in May saw the return of three Israeli hostages today after 15 months of captivity. “After so much pain and destruction, today the guns in Gaza have gone silent. We got here without the wider war in the Middle East many predicted,” he said.

Biden said four more women will be released in seven days, three additional hostages every seven days thereafter, including at least two American citizens.

The Israeli military said all three hostages released from Gaza are now in safe hands. “They are in our hands. They are coming home,” said IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

The hostages will be escorted to a facility near the border where they will then be seen by medical staff, welfare specialists and psychologists to help with the initial transition before they are reunited with their families. They will be kept away from the press and will receive medical and psychological support.

US President Joe Biden briefed the media on the ceasefire deal in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, saying the deal has come to fruition after months-long negotiations and it now falls on the Trump administration to implement the deal.

“After so much pain and destruction, today the guns in Gaza have gone silent,” he said. “We got here without the wider war in the Middle East many predicted.”

Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher have now crossed the border and returned home for the first time after 15 months of Hamas captivity in Gaza. Israeli forces are escorting the three hostages to a facility near the border for an initial checkup, as per The Times of Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Sunday that Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher are in the hands of the Israeli troops in Gaza.

“The government of Israel embraces the three returnees,” the PMO said, adding that their families have been told that they are in Israeli hands. “The government of Israel is committed to returning all of the hostages and the missing.”

US President-elect Donald Trump celebrated the release of the first three hostages by Hamas today. “Hostages starting to come out today!” he wrote on Truth Social. “Three wonderful young women will be first.”

Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher were handed to the Red Cross by Hamas and later to the Israeli troops stationed in Gaza.

The three Israeli hostages were surrounded by a massive Palestinian crowd as Hamas fighters handed them over to the Red Cross as part of the exchange deal. A crowd of fighters chanted the name of the armed wing of Hamas.

Israeli hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher have been handed over by the Red Cross to Israeli troops in Gaza. They will be brought out of Gaza to a facility near the border for a medical checkup.

“The three released hostages are being accompanied by IDF special forces and ISA forces on their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment,” said Israel’s Foreign Ministry.