Jan. 18 (UPI) — The first three hostages held by Hamas and some held captive by Israel are scheduled to be exchanged following the cessation of hostilities Sunday.
The Israeli government on Friday approved the cease-fire agreement with Hamas that ends fighting in Gaza and could see Hamas release three Israelis hostages in exchange for Israel releasing several Palestinians held prisoner in Israeli jails on Sunday morning, the Washington Post reported.
The cease-fire officially takes effect at 8:30 a.m. local time Sunday in Gaza, which is 1:30 a.m. EST. The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel and took hostages.
Israel Defense Forces “will implement the operational procedures in the field in accordance with the set agreements,” IDF officials told the Jerusalem Post.
The IDF is preparing to receive hostages and provide them with medical and psychological support while continuing to ensure security for Israeli citizens, especially those living in communities located near the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Qatari officials, who helped negotiate the cease-fire terms, have confirmed the official starting time for the cease-fire to clear up confusion regarding when the hostilities must end to uphold the agreement.
“We advise the [Gaza Strip] inhabitants to take precaution, exercise the utmost caution and wait for directions from official source,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in a post on X.
The cease-fire is scheduled to occur in three phases with the first one lasting 42 days.
During that phase, Hamas is required to release 33 Israeli hostages, leaving 65 still held by Hamas, while Israel is required to release potentially hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
The first hostages Hamas is to release are women, children, men over age 55 and those with medical conditions requiring treatment.
The 33 hostages scheduled for the initial release are identified by The Times of Israel.
They include 10 women, two children, including a toddler and a 5-year-old, and 21 men.
The youngest hostage is 2, while the oldest is 86.
Hamas has not indicated how many of those 33 hostages are alive, but Israeli officials expect the majority of those hostages are still living.
The bodies of those who are not living also are required to be returned to Israel to enable their families to bury them and provide them with closure.
Three hostages are scheduled for release on Sunday followed by four more on the cease-fire’s seventh day.
Three more hostages are to be released each of the following four weeks, followed by 14 hostages release on the sixth week of the cease-fire.
If the second phase of the cease-fire comes to fruition, the remaining 65 hostages are to be released then. Many of those hostages are dead, The Times of Israel reported.
The number of hostages to be released by Israel in the first phase has not been announced. The BBC reported 1,890 will be freed. Israel’s justice ministry earlier said 737 Palestinians would be released.
The second phase also brings a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.