Hamas frees 8 more hostages. Israel releases Palestinian prisoners after delay

Red Cross vehicles carrying Palestinian prisoners and detainees were engulfed by revelers in both the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In Ramallah in the West Bank, people leaving the buses were carried on the shoulders of chanting civilians. Video showed the newly released men throwing their hands up in greeting as they were carried through packed streets.

Video showed similar scenes in Gaza as the freed prisoners and detainees could barely make their way past people while exiting the vans. Al Jazeera reported that hundreds of people rushed to the courtyard of a Khan Younis hospital to greet the prisoners.

Palestinians lined streets in the occupied West Bank this evening waiting for buses carrying today's group of released Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Cheers, whistles and cars with flashing lights and sirens greeted the convoy of buses as it drove through Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian administrative capital.

Former Palestinian militant leader Zakaria Zubeidi is expected to be released from Israeli custody today as part of the deal to exchange prisoners and detainees for hostages, according to multiple media reports.

As a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed wing of Hamas rival Fatah, Zubeidi became prominent during the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s. He was among many who put down their arms in exchange for amnesty from Israeli authorities.

Zubeidi turned to the arts after that, leading a theater in the Jenin refugee camp as a way to revitalize Palestinian culture. He told NPR in 2008 that he felt the theater was a much more beneficial weapon.

"As a resistance fighter, I felt I was missing culture and the depth of politics," Zubiedi said. "So, unfortunately, all my resistance work was wasted. Therefore, I’m getting back to culture as my way of getting to resistance.”

Israeli authorities later revoked Zubeidi's pardon in 2011, ordering him to years in the custody of the Palestinian Authority, according to the Times of Israel. He was released in 2017 but Israeli authorities accused him of taking part in a shooting two years later, which Zubeidi denied.

He broke out of Gilboa prison with five others in 2021 and was taken back into custody shortly after.

Reuters video showed buses apparently carrying Palestinian prisoners and detainees leaving Israel's Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank after an hourslong delay.

The news agency also showed heavily armed men flanked by armored vehicles shooting what appeared to be tear gas into the the streets. Israeli authorities have forbidden Palestinians from celebrating the return of the detainees and prisoners.

Video also showed a waiting crowd in the city of Ramallah.

Arbel Yehoud's family has said they are "overwhelmed with emotion" following the release of their daughter, which they said marked the end of a "life's mission to bring Arbel back to us."

The family added that they continued to grieve the loss of their son, Dolev Yehoud, 25, who was killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks. And that Arbel's partner, Ariel Cunio, 27, remains held in Hamas captivity.

"Ahead of us lies another journey of family rehabilitation," they said in a statement released through the Hostage Families Forum. "We are a bereaved family, still aching and missing our Dolev."

"Our Arbel has been returned. However, our mission is not yet complete," they added, with Cunio, his brother and a close friend also still among those held hostage.

The hostages released by Hamas today are being taken to hospitals for medical treatment and review, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said.

Gadi Moses was being transported on Israeli Air Force helicopters, along with five Thai nationals, Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat and Rumnao Surasak, the spokesperson said.

The 80-year-old is expected to meet with his family at the hospital and receive medical treatment, they said. The Thai nationals released will be accompanied by representatives from their government, they added.

Arbel Yehoud and her family expected to depart to a hospital "soon," they said.

There were chaotic scenes as Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud was led through a crowd in Gaza before she was transfered to Israeli forces.

Thousands of people pressed around a handover site in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, in front of the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Palestinian prisoners and detainees are now expected to be released at around 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET), Hamas’ Prisoners Media Office has said, adding that it had established the timing after following up with mediators.

The release was delayed after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said the prisoners would not be freed “until the safe exit of our hostages is guaranteed in the next few days.”

Netanyahu had earlier criticized the handling of the release of three Israeli hostages and five Thai nationals, who were surrounded by crowds of fighters and onlookers before they were transferred to Israeli forces in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s office later confirmed that mediators had delivered a “commitment that a safe exit will be guaranteed for our hostages who will be released in the next rounds.”

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, was mobbed by well-wishers in Tel Aviv's "Hostages Square" as he made his way to talk to friends and family of both released captives and those still held in Gaza.

Asked by NBC News about the fate of the American hostages still being held in Gaza, he replied, "One will be out on Saturday."

He added that Trump was “determined to get all the hostages out.”

A ban preventing the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees from operating in Israel and East Jerusalem has come into force today.

The highly controversial move against the main humanitarian aid agency operating in Gaza was approved three months ago by the Israeli Knesset, or parliament.

A legal challenge to pause the ban was rejected Wednesday by the Israeli Supreme Court.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he met with Thai ambassador to Israel Pannabha Chandraramya this morning ahead of the release of five Thai hostages held by Hamas.

"I told the Ambassador that the people of Israel are very moved by the release of our Thai brothers from the hell of captivity, and that I heard how loved and important they were to the families and communities in which they worked," Herzog said in a statement.

"We hope that they will find strength through the process of rehabilitation and healing, and will be able to return to their homes soon," he said.

Israel has delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees who were scheduled for release in exchange for the hostages released earlier by Hamas.

In a statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office branded the 110 people set to be freed as "terrorists," adding the delay would be enforced “until the safe exit of our hostages is guaranteed in the next few days.”

It said that he ordered the delay along with Israel Katz, his defense minister.

Several teenagers detained without charge were set for release, Khalil Falama, an official overseeing the release told NBC News earlier today.

Ahead of today's hostage handover, displaced Palestinians continued to return to their homes in the enclave, only to find they were reduced to rubble.

Video captured by NBC News' crew captured families in city of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza on foot yesterday, surrounded by towering piles of rubble. In drone footage building after building could be seen heavily damaged and destroyed.

When Ibtisam Al-Kafarne and her five children arrived at the place where her home once stood there was nothing left and she asked where they would sleep and how they would survive.

Surounded by militant fighters, many dressed in black, Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud looked petrified before she was handed over to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis.

Yehoud, 29, was walked through a large crowd, cheering and shouting. Many took pictures and video with their cellphones.

Israel had expected Yehoud to be released last weekend and the resulting dispute about her remaining in captivity threatened to disrupt the ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the scenes unfolding in Gaza during today’s hostage handovers as “shocking” and “horrific.”

It comes after Israeli hostages could be seen surrounded by a crowd of Hamas members and onlookers as they were handed over to teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“I view with great severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a statement today. While he did not specify what exactly had riled him, he demanded that “the mediators ensure that such horrific scenes do not occur again, and to guarantee the safety of our hostages.”

In a separate statement, Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the handover as “nerve-wracking and unbearable” to watch.

Israel is set to release 110 Palestinian prisoners after eight hostages, three Israelis and five Thai nationals were freed by Hamas.

Those freed will include 30 children, 32 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, and 48 prisoners with high sentences, the Hamas Prisoner Media Office said in a statement.

Seven hostages have just been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the IDF and Israel Security Agency, have said in a joint statement.

Those freed "were on their way toward IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip," the statement added.

Their release came shortly after Israeli soldier Agam Berger was freed seperately.

The IDf confirmed to NBC News that the eight hostages expected to be released today have now been handed over, including three Israeli hostages and five Thai nationals.

Thailand’s ambassador to Israel said she was “holding her breath” along with the entire country of Israel for the release of five Thai agricultural workers who were kidnapped on Oct. 7.

“We have nothing to do with this conflict, they just happened to be there, and they are working tirelessly on the farms and kibbutzes,” said Pannabha Chandraramya as she watched footage from Gaza at the Israeli hospital where the Thai workers will be brought upon their return to Israel.

She added that despite the war, Thai agricultural workers are continuing to come to Israel. Prior to the attack, less than 30,000 Thai workers were in Israel, mostly in the agricultural sector, and that number has grown to 38,000 today.

Pannabha said the Thai government had notified the families of all six surviving Thai hostages, because they are not sure which five will be released. The bodies of another two Thai hostages who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023 are also being held in Gaza.

Her mother was pregnant when her father was imprisoned, so when he is released today it will be the first time they have ever met, Raghad, 21, told NBC News in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

As she waited with her sister, she said it will feel like a “dream” to be reunited with him. “This is the first time,” she added. “I want to touch my father. I want to hug my father.”

Raghad and her sister did not want to say why their father had been imprisoned.

The Israeli military said it intercepted a surveillance drone, launched by the Hezbollah militant group in neighboring Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces said no sirens were sounded in connection with the unmanned aerial vehicle “in accordance with protocol.”

Supporters gathered in Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square” could be seen holding up a large banner thanking President Donald Trump this morning.

"Our hope rests with you," the banner it said along with message of gratitude.

Many in Israel have credited Trump and Steve Witkoff, his special envoy to the Middle East for their help in getting the ceasefire and hostage release deal over the line.

As they prepare to reunite, Israeli solider Agam Berger’s family praised their “strong, faithful, and brave” daughter in a statement this morning.

“Thank God we have reached this moment, and our hero Agam has returned to us after 482 days in enemy hands,” said the statement, released by the Hostage Families Forum advocacy group.

"Now Agam and our family can begin the healing process, but the recovery will not be complete until all the hostages return home," the statement added.

In video released by the Israeli military, Berger's loved ones could be seen celebrating as they watched video of her being freed.

Four vehicles from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have arrived in Gaza's southern city Khan Younis.

The ICRC is acting as a neutral intermediary in the handover of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire agreement.

In the past a team of specialists who have been involved have helped to peacefully secure the transfers.

Hamas fighters arrived in dozens of military vehicles at the destroyed house of the militant group's former leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza's southern city Khan Younis.

Dressed in military uniforms, most of them were wearing green and black bandanas to represent Hamas' military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, and Islamic Jihad, footage taken at the scene showed. Thousands of watched from the sidelines.

Hamas spokesperson Abu Ataya said in a statement on Telegram that they were joined by fighters from the the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad and other militant groups.

Friends of Agam Berger said they were feeling "pure bliss" after receiving the news that she had crossed into Israeli territory following her release from Hamas captivity.

“I’m waiting to see the pictures of her hugging her parents because I love them,” Yoni Collins, a friend of Berger’s, told NBC News in Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square.”

“We’ve been waiting so long for this,” said Collins, 29, holding up a sign of his friend.

He added that he still had friends whose loved ones were still in Hamas’ custody. “We’re waiting for them to come home and we won’t stop until they all do,” he said.

Some of the Palestinian families awaiting the release of their loved ones from Israeli custody as part of today's hostage exchange have been warned not to celebrate, an official overseeing their release told NBC News.

Speaking in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Khalil Falama said Israeli forces had visited the homes of some of the families and warned them against any celebrations.

Falama, 56, said Palestinian prisoners and detainees were expected to be released between around 11:30 and 1 p.m. local time (4:30 and 6 a.m. ET).

A number of prisoners expected to be released today are expected to be sent to live in exile, Falama said.

Whether they were arrested for a social media post or killing Israelis, Palestinian prisoners are often seen by their community as having played their part in the resistance against the Israeli military occupation. Terrorists to Israelis, freedom fighters to Palestinians.

Those held in under a controversial practice known as “administrative detention,” which Israel uses to hold people without trial or other usual legal proceedings, based on alleged secret evidence it does not share with detainees, their families or legal representatives, are seen as hostages of the Israeli prison system.

The practice has been criticized by rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch who say it has been used to hold Palestinians without charge and due process.

But Israel has defended the practice as a necessary security measure.

Agam Berger has crossed into Israeli territory, according to joint a statement from the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency.

It said Berger was “on her way to an initial reception point in southern Israel where she will be reunited with her parents.”

Scores of people have gathered in Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square” to celebrate the release of Israeli soldier Agam Berger and await news of the seven other hostages set to be freed by Hamas today.

Many could be seen holding up signs of the hostages who are slated for release, including Arbel Yehoud, 29, Gadi Moses, 80, and five Thai hostages who have not been named. Others held up signs bearing the names and faces of hostages who remain held in Hamas' captivity.

“Mixed in with the joy of the release of Agam Berger is the anguish of the families of the hostages who are still in Gaza, both alive and dead,” the Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of those held captive in the enclave, said in a statement this morning following Berger’s release.

The Israeli government “embraces Agam Berger,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

“The government, together with all security agencies, will accompany her and her family,” it said.

Israeli soldier Agam Berger has been handed over to the International Red Cross by the shadow unit of Hamas military unit, the Qassam Brigades, Israeli security forces said.

Footage captured at the scene showed her emerge from a destroyed house wearing a military uniform, before she was paraded onto a stage with Hamas fighters.

She waved at the crowd before signing papers with the Red Cross. She is now being transfered to Israeli military forces in the Gaza Strip.

Berger was the last member of an all-female unarmed military unit to remain in captivity in Gaza. The team of seven women was taken hostage from the Nahal Oz military base.

International Red Cross vehicles have arrived at the Jabalia camp square to receive the hostages, according to an NBC News crew at the scene.

Large numbers of fighters from the Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, are also present.

The hostage handover today is expected to take place in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

There, an NBC News crew saw a platform set up with large posters bearing the logo of IDF battalions that fought in the area.

The hostages are set to be delivered from different parts of the enclave.

Abu Hamza, a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, said the militant group had already completed the procedures for the release of Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gabi Moses, 80.

Three Israeli and five Thai hostages are set to be freed as part of the ceasefire deal that will also see more than 100 Palestinian prisoners being released from Israeli prisons.

Arbel Yehoud, 29, Agam Berger, 20, and Gadi Moses, 80, have been named as the Israeli hostages down for release, but the names of their Thai counterparts have not been made public.

Israeli officials expected Yehoud to be released last weekend but Hamas instead released captive soldiers which Israel said was in violation of the agreement.

• Israel says Hamas has agreed to release three Israeli hostages
• A defiant Hamas displays its authority in Gaza, posing a challenge to Netanyahu
• They thought it was safe to walk home. Instead, she was the last child killed before Gaza's truce.