Three Israeli Hostages Exchanged for 90 Palestinian Prisoners

Three female Israeli hostages were released Sunday in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners on day one of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

Hostages: Romi Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28) and Doron Steinbrecher (31) were reunited with their families at the Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center in central Israel on Sunday evening, after spending 471 days in captivity.

The women were transferred to the Israel Defense Forces by the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, then airlifted to the Tel Hashomer Hospital to reunite with their families and receive treatment.

They are the first of 33 captives expected to be freed in the first phase of Israel and Hamas’s ceasefire deal.

Credit: Speaking to reporters at the White House shortly after the women were released, United States President Joe Biden took credit for the ceasefire and said the Middle East has been “fundamentally transformed” largely because of his and the U.S.’s efforts.

Steinbrecher’s family credited President Donald Trump:

After an unbearable 471 days, our beloved Dodo has finally returned to our arms. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported and accompanied us along this journey. A special thank you to the people of Israel for their warm embrace, unwavering support, and the strength they gave us during our darkest moments. We also extend our gratitude to President Trump for his significant involvement and support, which meant so much to us.

Prisoners: In exchange for the three hostages, Israel returned 90 Palestinian prisoners, including dangerous terrorists, to the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

• Khalida Jarrar, a top member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was released.

Other prisoners scheduled to be released later include 734 murderers. These include:

• Zakaria Zubeidi, who helped plan many terrorist attacks, including a bombing that killed six at a Likud party office in 2002.
• Mahmoud Atallah, who murdered a Palestinian woman he believed had cooperated with Israel. He later raped a female prison guard while in Israeli custody.
• Mahmud Abu Varda is serving 48 life sentences for planning terrorist attacks, including a 1996 bus bombing that killed 45 people.

What’s next? With such people being released, this deal looks like a victory for Hamas. The peace process is again becoming a trap for Israel.

To learn more, read “Is the Israel-Hamas War Over?”