Hamas releases 12 Thai hostages and 13 Israelis including women and children

The deal calls for Hamas to return 50 of the women and children taken hostage during its October 7 attacks in Israel, and for Israel to release 150 imprisoned Palestinian women and teenagers.

Twenty-five hostages held in the Gaza Strip, including 12 Thai nationals and 13 Israeli women and children, were released on Friday, the Egyptian government said, the first people to be freed under a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that took effect hours earlier.

The hostages were freed as part of a prisoner exchange that was set to see 39 Palestinian prisoners and detainees released from Israeli custody on the first day of a four-day truce, which could be the longest pause in fighting in the seven-week war between Israel and Hamas.

The cease-fire that took effect Friday morning has already enabled the delivery of aid supplies to Gaza, where roughly two-thirds of its 2.2 million people have been displaced by the war.

By the afternoon, dozens of trucks carrying humanitarian aid had entered Gaza from Egypt, a spokesperson for the border crossing, Wael Abu Omar, said by phone. Israel said that eight aid trucks contained fuel and cooking gas, a small but significant amount for a territory that has all but run out of fuel.

The deal, brokered by Qatar in weeks of talks, calls for Hamas to return 50 of the women and children taken hostage during its October 7 attacks in Israel that set off the fighting, and for Israel to release 150 imprisoned Palestinian women and teenagers. The exchange would occur in phases across the four days of the cease-fire.