JAKARTA - A total of 39 Palestinian prisoners and 17 hostages in Gaza were freed in continuation of the ceasefire agreement between the militant group Hamas and Israel which entered its fourth day last Sunday.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said in
The Israel Prison Service confirmed that it had released 39 prisoners from a total of seven Israeli prisons (six in Israel and one in the occupied West Bank).
This process marks the third exchange of prisoners and hostages between Hamas and Israel during the ceasefire which is now in its fourth day.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said that of the 17 hostages released yesterday, 13 were Israeli citizens, three were Thai citizens and another was a Russian-Israeli citizen.
Among the freed hostages was 4-year-old American-Israeli citizen Abigail Edan, the youngest American hostage, whose release marked the first time an American hostage had been freed since the start of the ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden, who praised Edan's release in a speech on Sunday, spoke with the girl's family on Sunday afternoon, according to the White House.
"Two days ago, one of those Americans, a little girl named Abigail, turned 4 years old. She spent her birthday being held hostage by Hamas," President Biden said in remarks from Nantucket, Massachusetts.
President Biden further said that Edan's release, along with the release of dozens of hostages since the break began on Friday, was the result of "weeks of hard work and personal engagement."
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The president said he would speak “soon” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the two would discuss implementation of existing agreements as well as efforts to extend the agreement to bring home additional hostages. President Biden also highlighted his dialogue with top officials in Qatar and Egypt.
Saying he will speak with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu after this, President Biden hopes this is not the end of the temporary ceasefire.
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