The true test of this agreement will be if it holds and translates to a long-term peace. Here’s hoping. Via AP:
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza on Monday, while Israel began releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that pummeled the territory, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, and had left scores of captives in militant hands.
Cheering crowds greeted buses of prisoners in the West Bank, while families and friends of the hostages gathered in a square in Tel Aviv, Israel, cried out with joy and relief as news arrived that the captives were free.
The hostages, all men, have arrived back in Israel, where they will reunite with family and undergo medical checks. The bodies of the remaining 28 dead hostages are also expected to be handed over as part of the deal, although the exact timing remained unclear.
Buses carrying dozens of freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in Beitunia, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, and in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run Prisoners Office said, as Israel began releasing more than 1,900 prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire deal.
