3 Americans expected to be released in Israel-Hamas hostage deal
Three Americans are expected to be released in the Israel-Hamas hostage deal.
The agreement, reached Tuesday, secures the release of at least 50 women and children currently being held in Gaza. The terms of the deal include a four-day truce, which is set to begin at 10 a.m. local time on Thursday (3 a.m. ET in the U.S.).
U.S. officials said two American women and one American girl are expected to be among the first wave of hostages released. The child, 3-year-old Abigail Edan, turns 4 on Friday, with her family hoping she will be home for her birthday.
When the hostages are released, they will be given to the International Red Cross before being handed over to the Israeli military, who will facilitate their transfer to hospitals for medical evaluation.
From there, hostages will be taken to a more isolated medical facility, where they will be reunited with their families. They will then take part in a debriefing to offer intelligence on what's going on inside the Gaza Strip.
The pause in fighting will allow larger convoys of humanitarian aid to get into Gaza. In exchange for the hostages, Israel will release 150 Palestinian prisoners.
A total of 239 hostages have been held captive by Hamas since militants launched a deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Nine of them are Americans, U.S. officials say.
President Joe Biden released a statement after the agreement was reached.
"As President, I have no higher priority than ensuring the safety of Americans held hostage around the world," he said. "That's why — from the earliest moments of Hamas's brutal assault — my national security team and I have worked closely with regional partners to do everything possible to secure the release of our fellow citizens. We saw the first results of that effort in late October, when two Americans were reunited with their loved ones."
On Oct. 20, U.S. mother Judith Raanan and her teenage daughter Natalie Raanan were released and reunited with their families.
President Biden said the deal "should bring home additional American hostages, and I will not stop until they are all released."
Nonstop talks among the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar helped pave a path for a hostage deal, with all involved parties hopeful this initial agreement leads to the release of more hostages. It's twice been described as a "phase one."
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