Among them is believed to be Emily Damari, a 28-year-old British-Israeli woman.
According to her mother, Surrey-born Mandy Damari, she was taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on the morning of the attack on October 7 and shot in the hand, “blindfolded and forced into her own car with two other friends”.
Lawyers for the families of British and British-linked hostages confirmed the news of Ms Damari’s release.
BREAKING: Israeli forces confirm they have received the three hostages
‘The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) salute and embrace the released hostages as they make their way home’, the IDF and Israel Security Agency (ISA) said in a joint statement. pic.twitter.com/MtV2MWpiVN
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 19, 2025
In a post on X, Adam Wagner and Adam Rose said: “We are delighted that our client, Emily Damari, has finally been released, after over 15 months of captivity by Hamas terrorists. We cannot wait to meet her.
“We request now that the family is allowed some peace and space.
“We continue to call for the speedy return of the other four hostages with strong British connections and for whom we act, Eli Sharabi, Yossi Sharabi (deceased), Oded Lifshitz and Avinatan Or, and of all of the other hostages.”
An Israeli official confirmed Romi Gonen, 24 who was also taken from her home in the same Kibbutz in southern Israel and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, who was taken from the Supernova music festival, are also set to be released today (January 19).
The deal ushers in an initial six-week period of calm and raises hopes for the release of dozens of militant-held hostages and an end to the devastating 15-month war.
A last-minute delay in Hamas naming three female hostages it planned to release on Sunday held up the start of the truce by nearly three hours and highlighted its fragility.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire had begun at 11.15am local time, nearly three hours after it was originally supposed to start at 8.30am.
The truce is the first step towards ultimately ending the conflict and returning nearly 100 hostages abducted in Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack.
The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire should see a total of 33 hostages returned from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released by Israel.
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Israeli forces should pull back into a buffer zone inside Gaza, and many displaced Palestinians should be able to return home.
The devastated territory should also see a surge in humanitarian aid.
Brokered by mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt in months of indirect talks between the warring sides, the ceasefire is the second truce achieved in the devastating conflict.