Hamas releases first 7 captives under ceasefire deal

KABUL (Pajhwok): Israel has received the first seven captives released by Hamas and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza as part of a ceasefire agreement, a media report said on Monday.

Al Jazeera reported that thirteen more captives are expected to be released later today. Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank are awaiting the release of nearly 2,000 people from Israeli jails under the agreement.

US President Donald Trump has arrived in Israel, where he is scheduled to address the Israeli Knesset and co-chair a summit in Egypt on the deal.

Last week, Trump announced that indirect talks in Egypt had produced an agreement on the first phase of his 20-point peace framework for Gaza, which includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a prisoner exchange.

Since October 2023, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,806 people and wounded 170,066. In Israel, the attacks of October 7, 2023, left 1,139 dead and around 200 people captured.

kk/sa