"Children, their mothers and other women. Every one of them is a world in themselves," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "But I stress to you, the families, and to you, citizens of Israel: We are committed to bringing back all our hostages."
Twenty-four hostages, which include 10 Thai nationals and a Filipino, were transferred out of Gaza and handed over to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing, accompanied by eight staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a four-car convoy, the ICRC said.
As part of the deal, Hamas will release 50 Israeli hostages it kidnapped on October 7 in exchange for 150 convicted Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel
In the operation ahead of the temporary ceasefire, Israeli military reported knocking down the tunnel under the key medical facility in Gaza.
Israeli helicopters were seen landing at the Hatzerim base to prepare to pick up the 13 hostages that would be released at 4 p.m. local time, including many children. To prepare for them, small noise-canceling ear muffs were placed inside.
