Release Of Israeli Hostages And Palestinian Prisoners Scheduled To Be Carried Out Today

The return of Palestinian prisoners released by Israel. (Source: Mohammad Abu Zaid/WAFA)

JAKARTA - A ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas Group in the Gaza Strip entered its third day on Sunday, ahead of the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners scheduled for today.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is scheduled for Monday afternoon local time to release the remaining hostages, quoted from Reuters October 12.

Israeli hostage coordinator Gal Hirsch said on Thursday a task force would be formed to help find the remains of the dead hostages that Hamas could not find.

Israeli Government spokesman Shosh Bedrosian told a news conference in Tel Aviv on Sunday that all hostages would be released in the coming hours.

Israel has been ready "since Saturday night to receive our hostages," he said, quoted by the BBC.

He said Israel expected 20 surviving hostages to be handed over to the Red Cross on Monday morning local time. They will then be moved across the border to Israel and taken to the Re'im military base.

Their release will be followed later by the handover of the bodies of 28 dead hostages

The bodies of the dead hostages will be placed in a coffin wrapped in Israeli flags and taken to a forensic agency for identification.

Instead, Israel plans to release 1,700 Palestinians who have been detained in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and 22 Palestinian minors, along with the bodies of 360 militants.

Bedrosian said Palestinian prisoners would be released after the surviving hostages reached Israeli territory.

Separately, thousands of Palestinians continue to move north towards Gaza City, which has been the focus of Israeli attacks over the past two months, hoping the ceasefire will end the war.

"There is a lot of joy among the community," Abdou Abu Seda said, adding the joy was suppressed by exhaustion after two years of war that has devastated much of Gaza.

Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday for a speech before the Israeli Parliament Knesset, before traveling to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt to attend a summit of world leaders on the end of the war in Gaza.

The United States, along with Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, mediates what is described as the first phase agreement between Israel and Hamas for the ceasefire and the release of Hamas hostages and Israeli prisoners.