Israel says 11 hostages from Gaza released in exchange for 33 Palestinian prisoners

The Israeli military said Monday that 11 hostages held in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7 attacks were on their way to Israel, on the last day of an initial four-day pause in the fighting.

“Based on information that was received from the Red Cross, 11 hostages are currently on their way to Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement.

Mediator Qatar said all 11 were dual citizens: three French, two Germans and six Argentinians.

In exchange, 33 Palestinians would be freed from Israeli prisons, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said on X, formerly Twitter.

Israel and Hamas agreed a four-day pause in the fighting in Gaza from Friday, with a total of 50 hostages to be released over the period in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The 11 hostages and 33 prisoners being released on Monday under the terms of the deal brought both figures to the stipulated totals.

Some foreign captives have been freed from Gaza separately.

Earlier Monday a two-day extension in the truce was agreed, which will require at least 10 hostages to be released from the Gaza Strip each day in exchange for three times as many Israeli-held prisoners.

In a statement, residents of the Nir Oz kibbutz, where the largest number of hostages were seized on October 7, said that all 11 of those released Monday were from the community.

“Out of the remaining hostages, 49 are from Nir Oz,” it said. “This list includes women, men, children, mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers.”

Kibbutz official Osnat Peri said Monday’s releases brought “a sigh of relief to our community, however we remain deeply concerned about our loved ones that are still held hostage”.