Hamas frees 12 hostages in exchange for release of 30 Palestinian prisoners in Israel

The Israeli military said Tuesday that 12 hostages who were held in Gaza - 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals - were on their way to Israeli territory, based on information it had received from the Red Cross.

Ten Israeli hostages released from Gaza on Tuesday consist of one minor and nine women including an Austrian citizen, two Argentinians, and a Filipino citizen, Majed al-Ansari, the Qatar foreign ministry spokesman posted on messaging platform X.

“In implementation of the commitment to the 5th day of the humanitarian pause, 30 Palestinian civilians will be released today,” Ansari said, adding the prisoners have been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“Palestinians released from Israeli prisons include 15 minors and 15 women,” Ansari added.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club, a semi-official organization, Israel in return is expected later on Tuesday to free 30 Palestinian detainees - 15 women and 15 men.

Hamas had released 50 Israeli hostages as of Monday night as well as 19 foreigners, mostly Thai farmworkers. Israel has so far released 150 prisoners prior to Tuesday’s moves.

The hostages were among some 240 people seized by Hamas gunmen during a rampage into southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which they killed 1,200 people.

The truce has brought Gaza its first respite after seven weeks of intensive Israeli bombardment prompted by the Hamas attack.

The truce had been due to expire overnight into Tuesday but both sides agreed to extend the pause to allow for the release of more hostages held by Hamas and of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Gaza health authorities say more than 15,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israel’s bombardment of the territory, around 40 percent of them children, with many more dead feared to be lost under rubble.

Israel has said the truce could be prolonged further, provided Hamas continues to free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day. But with fewer women and children still in captivity, keeping the guns quiet beyond Wednesday may require negotiating to free at least some Israeli men for the first time.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces and Hamas fighters largely held their fire and both sides expressed their hope for further extensions of the pause in fighting that has reduced much of the Gaza Strip to a desolate moonscape.

More than two-thirds of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have lost their homes, with thousands of families sleeping rough in makeshift shelters with only the belongings they could carry.