Hamas releases hostages as part of a truce agreement with Israel mediated by Qatar (archive)
New Delhi:
Thai Prime Minister Sritha Thavisin said on the 10th of this month that Hamas had released 12 Thai hostages. He added that embassy officials are on their way to receive the released hostages.
“The Security Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have confirmed that 12 Thai hostages have already been released. Embassy officials are on their way to pick them up in another hour. Their names and details should be known soon,” Mr Thavisin said. He said.
As part of a temporary ceasefire in Gaza today, Hamas was initially scheduled to hand over a group of 13 Israeli hostages to neighboring Egypt in exchange for the release of 39 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. With the release of the 12 Thai nationals, 25 people will be released from captivity after nearly two months.
Just minutes before the prisoner exchange at 4 p.m., Thailand announced that 12 of its citizens had been released in addition to the 13 Israelis.
According to reports, the hostages were handed over to the Red Cross on their way to the Rafah border – Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Agence France-Presse, citing two sources close to Hamas, reported that some Israeli hostages had been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross for return to Israel.
One of the sources said: “Half an hour ago, the prisoners were handed over to the Red Cross, which will transfer them to the Egyptians and Israelis who are scheduled to receive them.” The other source confirmed the delivery.
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