Release of Three Israeli Hostages and 90 Palestinian Prisoners; Biden Welcomes Gaza Ceasefire

On the first day of the initial phase of the Gaza ceasefire, three Israeli hostages were released, followed by the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners. Initially, on Sunday evening, three Israeli women hostages were freed and transferred to a hospital near Tel Aviv, and then, in the early hours of Monday, 90 Palestinian prisoners were released. The release and exchange of hostages and prisoners is based on a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt. The three Israeli women hostages included 24-year-old Romi Gonen, 28-year-old Emily Damari, and 31-year-old Doron Steinbracher. After the Red Cross handed them over to the Israeli army, they were taken for medical examinations at the Tel Hashomer hospital complex near Tel Aviv, where the head of the complex announced shortly after that all three were in good health and could currently be with their families. Romi Gonen was abducted at the Nova music festival, while the other two were taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel. The release of the 90 Palestinian prisoners occurred with a delay in the early hours of Monday. These prisoners were released from Ofer prison in the West Bank, which is under Israeli control, and reports indicate that they included 69 women, one child, eight boys, and 12 men. Additionally, reports state that 78 of these prisoners returned to their homes in the West Bank, while 12 others, who were residents of East Jerusalem, were transferred to that city. One of the Red Cross buses carrying the released prisoners left Ofer prison after a delay of about three hours from the scheduled start of the ceasefire agreement at 11:15 AM local time on Sunday. This phase, which has been announced to last six weeks, will see Israeli forces gradually withdraw from central Gaza, with a total of 33 Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released. According to the agreement, 600 trucks of humanitarian aid are to enter the Gaza Strip daily. Reactions: U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire shortly after the announcement of the release of the three Israeli hostages by Hamas, stating that the region has 'fundamentally changed' and emphasized that there are no concerns about Hamas reorganizing. He mentioned that the ceasefire agreement was implemented based on his administration's plan from May, and now the execution of the agreement in Gaza is in Donald Trump's hands. Biden added, 'The success of the ceasefire requires persistence, support from allies, and diplomacy.' The U.S. President emphasized that the ceasefire negotiations were 'one of the toughest negotiations' he has participated in during decades of foreign policy, achieved under pressure from Israel and supported by the U.S. Israel confirmed the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the three hostages released from Gaza on Sunday had experienced a difficult and terrifying ordeal and had 'returned from hell.' According to Agence France-Presse, Netanyahu, during a phone call with an Israeli official updating him on the release of the three women hostages, said, 'I know, we all know that they have gone through hell. They are coming from darkness to light, from captivity to freedom.' Meanwhile, Mike Waltz, national security advisor for the upcoming Trump administration, announced on Sunday that if Hamas retreats from the ceasefire agreement in exchange for the release of hostages, the United States will support Israel in taking retaliatory actions. In an interview with CBS, he stated, 'Hamas will never govern Gaza. This is completely unacceptable.' Waltz emphasized that Donald Trump and his team have communicated this to Netanyahu and added, 'I want the people of Israel to hear me clearly: if Hamas retreats from this agreement, changes the conditions, or refuses to implement it, we will support Israel in taking necessary actions.' Donald Trump, the U.S. President-elect, had previously emphasized that the ceasefire agreement and the release of Israeli hostages must continue. In a phone interview with NBC, he advised Netanyahu to bring this matter to a conclusion. The current war in Gaza began after the extremist group Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation across the Gaza Strip, which, according to officials under Hamas, has resulted in over 46,000 deaths so far. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union.