The continuation of the ceasefire agreement enabled more families to be reunited as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) safely transferred three hostages out of Gaza to Israel, and 344 Palestinian detainees from Israeli detention centres to Gaza and the West Bank. A total 369 detainees were released today.
The ICRC continues to raise its concerns about the way hostage and detainee releases are carried out. Despite repeatedly calling for all transfers to be carried out in a dignified and private manner, more must be done by all sides, including the mediators, to improve future transfers.
The ceasefire agreement has allowed for six release operations to take place in which the ICRC has safely returned 24 hostages and 985 detainees. It is crucial that parties abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement to ensure more families can be reunited and lifesaving humanitarian work can continue.
The ICRC remains committed to acting as a neutral humanitarian intermediary to support the implementation of this agreement. We reiterate our long-standing call for all hostages to be released in a dignified and safe manner, for more aid to enter Gaza, and for the ICRC to have access to all hostages and detainees.