After 15 months of relentless war, a long-awaited ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement was reached. On Sunday, 19 January, the first group of hostages was finally freed.

The agreement outlined a six-week plan for a gradual release of hostages, with 33 set to return home over 42 days. On the first day, three hostages were released, followed by four more on Saturday.

Subsequently, three hostages will be freed every seven days, culminating in the release of the final 14 during the last week of the first phase. Heartbreakingly, 36 of the hostages are known to have died in captivity.

The remaining 59 hostages will only be released if a second phase of the truce can be negotiated. Talks for this next phase are expected to begin roughly two weeks into the ceasefire.

Among the first group of hostages to be released are four female civilians, five female soldiers, and the Bibas family—including Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and baby Kfir, who was just nine months old when kidnapped and had spent most of his life in captivity—ten men over the age of 50, and eleven infirm men. In return, Israel will release 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners.

This exchange serves as a sobering reminder of the innocent lives torn apart by this conflict—civilians held captive for nearly 500 days now exchanged for individuals convicted of murder and terrorism.

The devastating war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched a brutal attack on southern Israel, killing over 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 hostages. To this day, 59 of those hostages remain in Gaza, along with the bodies of at least 36 victims confirmed dead by the IDF.

#thetruthaboutjudaismproject #thetruthaboutjudaism #jewish #judaism #antisemetism #israel #jewishhistory #jewishroots #jewishcommunity #jewishidentity #israel #TikkunOlam
#JewishPride #LChaim #JewishCulture
#Shalom #SupportJewishCauses
#JewishValues #education #charity
#stopantisemitism #stophate