Tel Aviv: The Hamas on Sunday handed over another 14 Israeli hostages who were kidnapped on October 7 to the Red Cross on the third day of the ceasefire.
Three foreign hostages were also released by Hamas.
Out of these hostages, 13 were Israeli citizens, one a Russian-Israeli citizen and 3 from other nations.
The Israel side will also release 42 Palestinian prisoners including women and children.
Sources in IDF told IANS that the 17 hostages are now with the IDF and that they will soon reach Israel from the Gaza strip.
The third exchange of hostages/prisoners came after the Hamas had, on Saturday, delayed the release of Israeli hostages, charging that Israel had delayed the supply of aid materials to the Gaza strip which was part of the condition for their release.
–IANS