Jerusalem (Gaza): A second group of 13 Israeli hostages, mostly children, are expected to be freed by Hamas militants on Saturday after they were abducted during the horrific onslaught on the country on October 7. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed that it received the names on Friday night of people to be released on Saturday, the second day of the exchange deal. The first exchange of 13 Israelis taken hostages for 39 Palestinian prisoners concluded successfully on Friday evening evoking mixed reactions on both sides.
In Israel, people expressed satisfaction at the return of some of their relatives but concerns over those still in captivity. There are also those who oppose the whole mechanism adopted arguing for continued full-fledged military operation to release all the hostages, and not to give the enemy respite to reorganise itself.
Islamist Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, led a deadly attack on Israel on October 7 killing about 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostage prompting Israel to declare a full-fledged war in Gaza which has seen massive destruction in the choked coastal Strip and loss of more than 14,000 lives as per the Gaza Health ministry. Israel has released a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners that can be set free on the basis of the 1:3 exchange method, meaning three Palestinian prisoners will be released for every Israeli hostage coming out of captivity.
This has set anxiety and expectations in the related Palestinian families who see a possibility of their family member coming out but also uncertainty given that it is based on the number of hostages that get released. The deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States leaves room for extending the "pause in fighting" with Israel agreeing to extend it by an extra day for every ten captives being released beyond the 50 agreed. The remaining 24 hostages out of the 50 agreed for release are likely to come out in batches of 12 on Sunday and Monday. The "pause in fighting" or 'temporary ceasefire' went into effect on Friday morning and 7 AM.
According to local media reports, eight of the 13 hostages to be released on Saturday will be children. Only four of the 13 Israelis released on Friday were children. After reviewing the list, Israeli security officials notified the hostages' families, the PMO said. Israeli authorities had notified both the families of the hostages being released Friday as well as those who were not on the first list. As part of a separate deal, 11 foreign nationals, including 10 Thai nationals and a Filipino, were released by Hamas on Friday.
