Operation to exchange Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners has started on Monday morning, with Hamas releasing seven hostages so far.
Israeli occupation authorities said the first seven hostages had been handed over to its military, after they were received by the Red Cross at a location in Gaza.
Red Cross vehicles are seen driving in Gaza City as Hamas has handed over the first seven of 20 surviving Israeli hostages to Red Cross representatives, according to the Israeli army, as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal pic.twitter.com/xtKM8r6ISE
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 13, 2025
Israeli foreign ministry named the released captives as the Red Cross said that it had started a “multiphase operation” to facilitate the release and transfer of the remaining hostages.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank wait for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians from Israeli jails as part of the agreement.
A number of white buses with Israeli flags and vehicles with flashing lights are being seen outside Israel’s Ofer Military Prison, in the occupied West Bank, where many of the Palestinian prisoners due to be released today are being held, Al Jazeera and other media outlets reported.
All 1,966 Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release on Monday have boarded buses in Israeli prisons pic.twitter.com/PoaKyEgbpY
— RT (@RT_com) October 13, 2025
The Red Cross is overseeing the logistics of the prisoner exchange, including the transfer of Palestinian detainees to a designated medical point in Khan Younis, set up inside Nasser Hospital specifically for this day.
If completed as planned, the exchange will also include the return of the bodies of 28 dead hostages.
Al-Qassam Says Committed to Deal
Meanwhile on Monday, Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, stressed that it is committed to the swap deal as long as the Israeli occupation is so.
“We declare our commitment to the agreement reached and the timetables associated with it, as long as the occupation [Israel] adheres to them,” Al-Qassam said in a statement.
It hailed the Palestinian people steadfastness by saying: “The agreement reached is the result of the steadfastness of our people and the resilience of resistance fighters.”
“The resistance was eager to stop the war of extermination, but the enemy thwarted all efforts.”
“The enemy failed to recover its prisoners through military pressure, despite its superior intelligence and surplus force. The enemy submits and recovers its prisoners through an exchange deal, as the resistance had promised from the beginning,” the statement read.
Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar)
