Palestinian group of Islamic Jihad and Hamas fighters escort Israeli captive Arbel Yehud (C) to hand her over to a Red Cross team Khan Yunis on January 30, 2025. AFP
Hamas fighters freed the first of eight captives on Thursday in the latest release since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold earlier this month.
Israel was expected to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday.
Hours after Hamas freed female Israeli soldier Agam Berger, crowds gathered for further releases.
Crowded scene unfolded as thousands of people pressed around a handover site in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, in front of the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Footage showed Arbel Yehoud, a 29-year-old captive, being led through the crowd by fighters toward waiting Red Cross vehicles. There was no clear view of other captives , or of her entering the car.
Hundreds of fighters from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group arrived with a convoy in a show of force, and thousands of people gathered to watch, some from the tilted rooftops of bombed-out buildings.
Hamas had earlier handed Berger, 20, to the Red Cross after parading her in front of a crowd in the heavily destroyed urban refugee camp of Jabaliya in northern Gaza. The Israeli government later confirmed that Berger was with its forces.
Gazans crowd around a Red Cross convoy as Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad and Hamas fighters prepare to hand over Israeli and Thai hostage in Khan Yunis on January 30, 2025, as part of their third hostage-prisoner exchange. AFP
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