Hamas releases second group of 17 hostages under ceasefire agreement with Israel

Amidst the Israel-Gaza war, Hamas released another group of Israeli hostages.

According to the reports, 17 hostages released from Hamas captivity reached Israel on Sunday, which includes 13 Israelis and 4 Thai citizens.

This agreement is two-way. Under which a total of 50 Israeli hostages are to be exchanged in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas handed over the hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) late Saturday night.

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, the 13 Israelis released included six women and seven children and teenagers. "The freed hostages are going to hospitals in Israel, where they will be reunited with their families," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

39 Palestinians, including 33 minors, were released from Israeli prisons in exchange for Israeli hostages. A Palestinian official familiar with the diplomacy said Hamas would maintain a four-day ceasefire agreed with Israel, the first stoppage in the fighting.

On October 7, Hamas fighters launched a rampage in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and nearly Took 240 hostages with them.

In response to that attack, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, the terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip. He is continuously carrying out ground and air attacks. Palestinian health officials said on Saturday that Israel's attacks have killed about 14,800 people, about 40% of whom are children. The hostage swap comes after Hamas on Friday freed 13 other Israeli hostages, including children and elderly people, in exchange for the release of 39 Palestinian women and youth from Israeli prisons.

The United Nations confirmed that 61 trucks of aid were delivered to northern Gaza on Saturday, the most since October 7, including food, water and emergency medical supplies. Al-Qassam Brigades also said that Israel had failed to respect the conditions for the release of Palestinian prisoners and that Palestinian detainees were not released based on seniority.

Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari said that there was "a lot of discussion" on how and who should be prioritized for release. The decision as to which Palestinian prisoners should be released first was taken on the basis of their time spent in Israeli jails.

Israel said the ceasefire could be extended if Hamas continued to release about 10 hostages every day. A Palestinian source said that 100 hostages could be released.