Hostages Released on Friday: Who Are They?

Hamas released the first group of hostages, who were safely returned to Israel on Friday, marking the completion of the initial phase of a significant agreement negotiated with the help of foreign mediation. Among the civilians were 13 Israeli women and children who had been captured by Hamas during cross-border raids on October 7 and held in Gaza for 48 days under deteriorating humanitarian conditions.

Upon arriving at the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, the hostages were handed over from the Red Cross to Egyptian officials and then flown back to Israel by helicopter. They were then transported to designated locations set up by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) with necessary medical supplies and support for their initial care.

As reported by the Prime Minister's Office and a spokesperson for Kibbutz Nir Oz, the 13 released Israelis are: Yafa Adar, 85; Ohad Munder, 9; Keren Munder, 54; Ruth Munder, 78; Margalit Moses, 77; Adina Moshe, 72; Daniel Aloni, 45; Emilia Aloni, 5; Aviv Asher, 2; Raz Asher, 4; Doron Katz Asher, 34; Hana Katzir, 76; and Channa Peri, 79.

Twelve out of the 13 hostages are residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz, as stated by a spokesperson for the kibbutz. The community experienced a total of 77 abductions on October 7th. The 13th hostage, Channa Peri, hails from Kibbutz Nirim, as previously reported by CNN.

Daniel Aloni, along with three other women, appeared in a recently released hostage video by Hamas. The video also featured the release of 24 hostages on Friday, including 10 Thai citizens and 1 Filipino citizen, according to Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatar Foreign Ministry.

This is a developing story and will be updated.