Filipino among hostages freed as Gaza truce takes hold

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="People with an Israeli flag looks on as an Israeli army helicopter carrying Israeli children hostages who were held by Hamas in Gaza, landed at the helipad of the Schneider-Children" s="" Medical="" Center="" in="" Petah="" on="" November="" Israel="" and="" Hamas="" agreed="" to="" a="" four-day="" ceasefire="" mediated="" by="" the="" that="" came="" into="" effect="" at="" AM="" GMT="" with="" Israeli="" women="" be="" released="" Palestinian="" were="" detained="" prisons="" exchange.="" EPA-EFE="" ABIR="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/11/25/20231125-israeli-flag-epa.jpg"/><figcaption>People with an Israeli flag looks on as an Israeli army helicopter carrying Israeli children hostages who were held by Hamas in Gaza, landed at the helipad of the Schneider-Children&#x27;s Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, on November 24, 2023. Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day ceasefire agreement, mediated by Qatar, the US, and Egypt, that came into effect at 05:00 AM GMT on 24 November, with 50 Israeli hostages, women and children, to be released by Hamas and 150 Palestinian women and children that were detained in Israeli prisons to be released in exchange. EPA-EFE/ABIR SULTAN</figcaption></figure></div>Hamas on Friday freed a first batch of hostages, including one Filipino, seized in the deadliest attack in Israel&#x27;s history under a deal that saw a temporary truce take hold in war-ravaged Gaza.Thirteen Israeli hostages captured during Palestinian militants&#x27; cross-border raids were back in Israeli territory where they would undergo medical checks before being reunited with their families, the army said.They included four children and six elderly women, an official Israeli list showed.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to bring all the hostages home.&quot;This is one of the goals of the war, and we are committed to achieving all the goals of the war,&quot; he said.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2883341" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div>FILIPINO HOSTAGE RELEASED</div>In a statement, the Israeli Embassy in Manila reported the release of Jimmy Pacheco — a Filipino caregiver based in Nir Oz, and who had been taken hostage in on October 7.&quot;Jimmy is undergoing medical evaluations at Shamir Medical Center to ensure his well-being,&quot; the embassy said.Philippine Ambassador Pedro Laylo Jr. and senior representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed him after his release by Hamas, the embassy also said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/24/23/17-filipinos-in-hijacked-ship-safe-so-far-dfa">17 Filipinos in hijacked ship safe so far, says DFA</a></li></ul><div>13 ISRAELIS, 11 FOREIGNERS FREED</div>A convoy of Red Cross vehicles was earlier seen crossing the border between Gaza and Egypt, with some of the passengers waving, after Hamas handed over the hostages to the humanitarian organization.Israel is set to free three times as many Palestinian prisoners — women and teenage boys — under a deal that followed weeks of talks involving Israel, Palestinian militant groups, Qatar, Egypt and the United States.Key mediator Qatar confirmed Hamas had on Friday released a total of 24 hostages and that Israel had freed 39 women and children from its prisons.&quot;Those released include 13 Israeli citizens, some of whom are dual citizens, in addition to 10 Thai citizens and a Filipino citizen,&quot; its foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said.Hamas released a two-minute video later Friday showing masked militants wearing the green headband of its armed wing handing hostages over to Red Cross officials.US President Joe Biden said Friday&#x27;s release was just a &quot;start&quot; and that there were &quot;real&quot; chances to extend the temporary truce in Gaza.Speaking to reporters in Massachusetts, where he was spending the Thanksgiving holiday, Biden urged a broader effort to emerge from the crisis with a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.Pictures released by the Israeli army showed bright pink and blue headphones sitting on the seats of a helicopter ready for the released hostages to use, along with toys and teddy bears waiting at a reception centre where they were being taken.Hamas broke through Gaza&#x27;s militarised border with Israel on October 7 to kill, according to Israeli officials, about 1,200 people and seize around 240 Israeli and foreign hostages.During a four-day truce, at least 50 hostages are expected to be freed.In exchange, 150 Palestinians prisoners are expected to be released.Of the 39 prisoners released on Friday, 28 were freed in the occupied West Bank, an AFP correspondent reported, while the other 11 were brought to annexed east Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Prisoners&#x27; Club.Those released in the West Bank were greeted by large crowds and fire crackers that lit up the night sky. In east Jerusalem, Israeli police issued orders banning celebrations.&quot;The police are in our house and are stopping people coming to see us,&quot; said Fatina Salman, whose daughter Malak, now 23, was among those released.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/overseas/11/24/23/israel-hamas-start-first-truce-in-gaza-war">Israel, Hamas start first truce in Gaza war</a></li></ul><div>&#x27;GOING HOME&#x27;</div>The pause in fighting in Gaza triggered a mass movement of thousands of people who had sought refuge in schools and hospitals from relentless Israeli bombardment begun after attacks by Hamas militants.&quot;I&#x27;m going home,&quot; Omar Jibrin, 16, told AFP after he emerged from a hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip where he and eight family members had sought refuge.In Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza where many Palestinians fled, a cacophony of car horns and ambulance sirens has replaced the sound of war.For Khaled al-Halabi, the truce is &quot;a chance to breathe&quot; after nearly seven weeks of war.Israel&#x27;s retaliatory air, artillery and naval strikes alongside a ground offensive have killed about 15,000 people, most of them civilians, the Hamas government in Gaza said.Gazans have struggled to survive with shortages of water and other essentials.Trucks carrying aid, including fuel, food and medicine, began moving into Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt shortly after the truce began at 7:00 am (0500 GMT).A total of 200 aid trucks passed through on Friday — the biggest humanitarian convoy to enter the besieged territory since the war started — according to the Israeli defense ministry body that handles Palestinian civil affairs.Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, expressed hope that the pause &quot;leads to a longer-term humanitarian ceasefire&quot;.The UN estimates that 1.7 million of Gaza&#x27;s 2.4 million people have been displaced by the fighting.In Khan Yunis, they loaded belongings onto carts, strapped them to car roofs, or slung bags over their shoulders, crowding streets to return to their homes from temporary shelters.Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets warning people that the war is not over and it is &quot;very dangerous&quot; to return north, the focus of Israel&#x27;s military campaign.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/24/23/dfa-26-filipinos-still-in-gaza-10-set-to-cross-into-egypt">DFA: 26 Filipinos still in Gaza; 10 set to cross into Egypt</a></li></ul><div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

A convoy of Red Cross vehicles was earlier seen crossing the border between Gaza and Egypt, with some of the passengers waving, after Hamas handed over the hostages to the humanitarian organization.

Filipino among hostages freed as Gaza truce takes hold | ABS-CBN

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Filipino among hostages freed as Gaza truce takes hold

Filipino among hostages freed as Gaza truce takes hold

Agence France-Presse

Published Nov 25, 2023 07:57 AM PHT

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Updated Nov 25, 2023 07:59 AM PHT

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