GAZA: Palestinian fighters were set to release a second group of hostages Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, officials said, as a truce largely held in the devastated Gaza Strip after seven weeks of war that killed thousands of people.
Israeli prison authorities said 42 Palestinian inmates -- both male and female -- would be freed under the terms of the agreement, which mandates exchanges at a ratio of three to one.
An Israeli official source said 14 hostages would be handed over.
The transfers follow an initial exchange Friday, the first day of a four-day truce that largely silenced the guns on both sides.
The second day of the truce appeared to be holding. Only a small plume of grey smoke rose over northern Gaza, the focus of Israel's air and ground offensive.
On Friday 24 hostages were released from Gaza, according to Qatar and an official Israeli list. They included 13 Israelis -- all of whom were women and children, including some dual citizens.
Ten Thais and one Filipino were also unexpectedly freed.
"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Kittiya Thuengsaeng in Thailand, who thought her 28-year-old boyfriend had been killed. Then she saw a photograph of Wichai Kalapt after his release.
"I had a chat with him in the morning. He was still smiling. He told me he was safe," she said.
Palestinian fighters snatched around 240 captives when they broke through Gaza's militarised border with Israel on October 7.
In response, Israel launched an air, artillery and naval bombardment alongside a ground offensive, killing nearly 15,000 people, according to the government in Gaza.
A two-minute video showed masked people handing hostages over to the Red Cross.
Israel in turn freed 39 Palestinian women and children from its prisons.
It is expected to free a total of 50 hostages from Gaza during the truce in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners, under an agreement struck after talks involving Israel, Palestinian groups, Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
Most of the 39 prisoners freed by Israel on Friday were released in the West Bank, while 11 were taken to annexed east Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group.
"I spent the end of my childhood and my adolescence in prison, far from my parents and their hugs," freed prisoner Marah Bakir, 24, said after returning to her home in annexed east Jerusalem.
Earlier in the evening, Israeli authorities fired tear gas to disperse crowds as the prisoners were released. The Palestinian Red Crescent said three people were shot and wounded by Israeli security forces.
In Israel, authorities asked the media to let the newly-freed hostages reunite with loved ones in privacy.
The pause in fighting in Gaza opened the way to more desperately needed aid.
Trucks carrying supplies, including fuel, food and medicine, began moving into Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt shortly after the truce began.
Israel had placed Gaza under total siege, leaving Gazans struggling to survive with shortages of water and other essentials. — AFP
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