French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that two French-Israelis, Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi, were on the list of 33 hostages set to be released in the first phase of the Gaza agreement.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure that their families are reunited with them,” he added in the post on X.
The first phase of the deal reached in Doha between Hamas and Israel could start Sunday and is expected to last for six weeks.
Hostages could be released as early as Sunday, Israel says
The first batch of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza could be released as early as Sunday should the Israeli government approve a ceasefire and hostage release deal, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
A scheduled meeting of the Israeli security cabinet started Friday morning to vote on the ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was announced in Qatar on Wednesday. A subsequent full cabinet vote will be required for the deal to take effect.
“Subject to the approval of the cabinet and the government, and the implementation of the agreement, the release of the hostages could take place according to the planned outline, with the hostages expected to be released as early as Sunday,” the PMO said in a statement on Friday.
If the agreement materializes, Hamas and its allied militant groups are expected to release 33 hostages seized from Israel during the attacks of October 7, 2023. In return, Israel will free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Aid workers still unclear on what will be included in ceasefire deal, NRC spokesperson says
Aid workers remain unclear on what exactly will be included in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, particularly in regard to humanitarian access, an aid worker from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) told CNN’s Max Foster Friday morning.
“We’re hearing that we might see 600 trucks of aid a day entering Gaza,” said Gavin Kelleher, humanitarian access manager for Gaza at the NRC, adding that this would be a “massive” increase on what has been seen to date.
“But we’re not exactly clear on how free we will be to move right the way across Gaza from day one, and whether civilians in Gaza will be quickly able to return to Gaza City, which is the priority intention for most people in south and central Gaza.”
Kelleher added that humanitarian workers on the ground in the enclave had long been preparing for a ceasefire. “We expect to see hundreds of thousands of people moving very quickly in different directions, so we’re making preparations for that at the moment.”
He added that they anticipate other challenges, including a significant amount of unexploded ordinance and structurally unsafe buildings.
The ramping up of humanitarian aid into Gaza to 600 trucks per day was outlined in the deal agreed between Hamas and Israel. A humanitarian official warned Thursday this would be “only a start” in addressing the enclave’s humanitarian crisis.
The ceasefire and hostage release deal is expected to take effect on Sunday.
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