HAMAS members hand over part of Israeli detainees to Red Cross teams as part of the prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza, October 13, 2025.
The Palestinian resistance movement HAMAS released all 20 Israeli detainees alive on Monday morning and handed them over to the Red Cross.
The Israeli military confirmed Monday morning that seven Israelis crossed the Gaza Strip and entered the occupied Palestinian territories as part of the first phase of an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners between Israel and HAMAS.
“The returning hostages, Eitan Mor, Alon Ohel, Ziv Berman, Gali Berman, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Omri Miran and Matan Angrest, accompanied by Israeli forces, crossed the border into” the recently occupied Palestinian territories, said a brief statement issued by the army at 9:30 local time (6.30 GMT).
The release of the seven detainees is part of a multi-phase operation overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to free Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners.
“They are reportedly in reasonable condition, walking without the need for medical assistance,” Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said from Amman, Jordan, referring to the seven hostages released.
The Israeli army took the detainees to the Reim base, located along the border with Gaza, where they will be given a health assessment and will be reunited with their families.
Surrender of second group of Israeli detainees begins
Subsequently, Red Cross vehicles entered different areas of the Gaza Strip to receive the second group of Israeli detainees.
According to local sources, the vehicles arrived in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah to begin the handover process. Four Red Cross vehicles received 13 Israeli detainees from southern Gaza.
Under the truce agreement, HAMAS is expected to hand over a total of 20 Israeli hostages alive and the bodies of 28 others, while Israel will release about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The package includes nearly 250 Palestinians serving long jail terms, including life imprisonment, and approximately 1,700 people detained during Israel’s two-year war in the Gaza Strip, according to relatives and officials.
The Palestinian Quds Network reported that Israeli detainees would be released in two batches, at 8:00 a.m. local time and 10:00 a.m., while Palestinian prisoners would be released at 10:00 a.m.
A large crowd of people, including relatives of the hostages, has gathered in Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square,” cheering and celebrating the release of the first seven captives.
Meanwhile, hundreds of freed Palestinians will arrive at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where large crowds have gathered to greet a number of Palestinian prisoners.
Red Crescent teams mobilize in Ofer prison for the release of Palestinian prisoners
Meanwhile, several white buses with Israeli flags and vehicles with flashing lights have been seen in front of Israel’s Ofer military prison, where they are due to be released on Monday.
In addition, teams from the Palestinian Red Crescent have entered Israel’s Ofer prison to “transport a sick prisoner whose release is scheduled” today, reports the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Local media also indicate that the Israeli army has distributed leaflets using drones warning Palestinians not to celebrate the release of their loved ones in the West Bank.
The prisoner swap is part of the ceasefire agreement signed by Hamas and Israel last week. The peace plan, presented by U.S. President Donald Trump, also includes the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid to areas affected by the two-year conflict.
Trump and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, are expected to co-chair a summit in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday afternoon to sign an end to the war in Gaza that has left more than 67,000 Palestinians dead.
