Three Israeli hostages were released in the initial stage of the three-phase accord, which provides for a total of 33 captives to be freed over 42 days in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were handed over to the Red Cross by masked Hamas gunmen in Gaza City on Sunday afternoon.

“We were scared to death at the transfer point, from the combination of the armed terrorists and the Gazan crowd,” one of the women was quoted as saying by Channel 12 news.

 

 

Former captives were quoted saying they ‘were scared to death’ during Hamas transfer in Gaza City; some hardly saw daylight in 471 days; all of them knew what happened on October 7, but due to some radio news, they knew of the protests and battle to get them released.

“We saw your struggle,” the former hostages were quoted as saying. “We heard our families fighting for us.”

“I didn’t think I would come back. I thought I’d die in Gaza,” one of the hostages was quoted.

Over the following four weeks, three hostages are to be released each Saturday, with a final group of 14 on day 42 of the ceasefire.