33 hostages said to be released first in emerging ceasefire deal, forces to remain in Gaza
Under the terms of the emerging ceasefire, it is expected that the first 33 hostages to be released will be humanitarian cases, an Israeli security source told The Press Service of Israel on Monday as reports swirled throughout the day of an impending ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.
Friends and relatives of Israeli hostages rally in Tel Aviv on Jan. 9, 2025. Photo by Gideon Markowicz/TPS-IL
Meanwhile, five Israeli hospitals were instructed to begin preparations to receive and treat the initial returnees.
The security source said that imprisoned Palestinian terrorists with blood on their hands will apparently not be released to Judea and Samaria. He did not specify how many would be released or to where.
As for security arrangements during the temporary ceasefire, the Israel Defence Forces will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip until all the hostages are freed.
Moreover, it appears that Israeli forces will also remain in the Philadelphi corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border for the duration of the ceasefire. This corridor is a buffer zone that runs the length of the Gaza-Egypt border. It was created in 2006 to prevent weapons smuggling after Israel disengaged from the Strip but Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority the following year.
It is understood that Palestinians from northern Gaza who fled to southern areas of the Strip will be allowed to return to their homes.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 95 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015 and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
