The three men, appearing gaunt, pale, and visibly weak, were brought onto a stage in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza before their release in what appeared to be a staged Hamas event, where a masked operative delivered a speech announcing their release. Meanwhile, the families of the captives were anxiously awaiting their return, some of them enduring months of heartbreaking loss and uncertainty. Yossi has since been confirmed dead, with Hamas still holding his body.
His wife, Einav, was murdered in the attack, leaving their now three-year-old son, Almog, in the care of his grandparents. For 16 months, Almog has been told that his father was missing and being searched for. Under the current agreement, Hamas is expected to release 33 Israeli hostages in phases in exchange for 1, Palestinian prisoners, including serving life sentences for terrorism-related offenses. As part of this phase of the deal, Israel is set to release Palestinian detainees, among them 18 prisoners serving life terms and others sentenced to decades in prison.
So far, 13 out of 33 hostages scheduled for release in the first day phase of the deal have returned home, along with five Thai hostages.
In return, Israel has released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Negotiations for a second phaseβwhich is intended to secure the release of an additional 60 hostages and include plans for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gazaβare ongoing, with an Israeli negotiating team expected to travel to Doha soon.
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