Staff members of the Red Cross transfer released hostages to the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 25, 2023. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said in a statement late Saturday that it had handed over the second group of Israeli and foreign hostages to the Red Cross. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
GAZA/JERUSALEM, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said in a statement late Saturday that it had handed over the second group of Israeli and foreign hostages to the Red Cross.
A total of 17 hostages, including 13 Israelis and four Thais, have crossed into Egypt and are on their way to Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote in a post on its X account.
The 17 people are the second group of hostages to be sent back to Israel in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The exchange was scheduled to take place around 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) Saturday, but was delayed for several hours after Hamas accused Israel of failing to meet the terms in a four-day humanitarian cease-fire agreement, which was agreed upon by the two sides on Wednesday after more than six weeks of bloody conflict. ■
Staff members of the Red Cross transfer released hostages to the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 25, 2023. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said in a statement late Saturday that it had handed over the second group of Israeli and foreign hostages to the Red Cross. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
Staff members of the Red Cross transfer released hostages to the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 25, 2023. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said in a statement late Saturday that it had handed over the second group of Israeli and foreign hostages to the Red Cross. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
Staff members of the Red Cross transfer released hostages to the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 25, 2023. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said in a statement late Saturday that it had handed over the second group of Israeli and foreign hostages to the Red Cross. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)