'Our hero has returned': Hamas releases 8 more Gaza hostages as part of ceasefire deal
Eight hostages ? three Israelis and five Thai nationals ? were returned to Israel Thursday after spending 482 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza.
They were freed in an at-times chaotic handover in connection with a weekslong ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners swap between Israel and the militant group aimed at ending 15 months of fighting.
Kidnapped Israeli soldier Agam Berger was the first to be released, followed by civilians Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Moses. Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat and Rumnao Surasak were the five Thai nationals freed. They were released in a separate deal between Hamas and the Thai government.
'Wave of relief and joy': Four female Israeli hostages released by Hamas
Berger, 20, was abducted while serving at the Nahal Oz military base close to Gaza when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She was seized just 24 hours after starting her first job in the military as a border surveillance officer. Four other female Israeli soldiers with whom she was serving have already been freed.
"Thank God we have reached this moment, and our hero Agam has returned to us," Berger's family said in a statement. "Our daughter is strong, faithful, and brave."
The release of Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Moses, 80, drew large crowds in Gaza, with people pushing and shoving as they were transferred by Hamas gunmen to Red Cross trucks, which delivered them to Israel. Berger was led onto a stage, surrounded by masked and uniformed Hamas fighters, before her transfer.
After their release, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the release of Palestinian prisoners would be delayed "until the safe exit of our hostages in the next phases is assured."
In exchange for the hostages, Israel will free Palestinian prisoners ? 50 for Berger and 30 for each civilian. Some of the prisoners are women and children. Others were serving life sentences for murdering Israelis.
Israel holds an estimated 10,000 Palestinians in its prisons. Some are held for relatively minor offenses, such as throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. Some have not been charged at all. Some have been convicted of what Israel calls terrorism, but Palestinians often describe as their right to fight back against an occupying military.
Here's a closer look at the three Israel hostages released Thursday.
Palestinian prisoners: Israel holds an estimated 10,000 Palestinians in its prisons
Who is Agam Berger?
When Berger was abducted she had virtually no military experience. She was a so-called spotter at Israel's Nahal Oz military base. Her job was sit on the base for hours and look out for anything suspicious.
The unit she was part of has nevertheless taken on added significance because several of its members tried to warn their superiors that they were noticing unusual activity inside Gaza in the days and weeks before Hamas' attack.
Before her kidnapping, Berger's passions were playing the violin. She was also a volunteer at a community center in her family's neighborhood south of Tel Aviv, where she helped kids with their homework.
Her family has described her as "like many other girls her age."
She's into "having fun, going out with friends to get their hair and nails done. She likes to travel. She loves the beach. She's got a big heart," her father, Shlomi Berger, told USA TODAY last year.
He said he hopes none of that changes with his daughter's release from captivity.
Their 20-year-old is a hostage in Gaza: Here's what they know about her condition
Who is Arbel Yehoud?
Yehoud was kidnapped along with her partner, Ariel Cunio. He is still in Gaza.
Yehoud was at her home on Kibbutz Nir Oz when she was taken by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7. She worked at a community center focused on technology, including space exploration, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organization that advocates for the release of the hostages.
Israeli officials believe Yehoud may be the last female civilian hostage held by Hamas still alive.
Shiri Bibas, another female civilian, was abducted from Nir Oz with her husband, Yarden, and their two sons: Ariel, who was 4 at the time, and Kfir, who was 9 months. Kfir Bibas has celebrated two birthdays in captivity.
Israel has pressed Hamas for information about the Bibas family. Israel's military has cautioned they may be dead.
Who is Gadi Moses?
Moses, a farming expert, was taken captive from his home in Nir Oz.
According to witnesses and testimony from freed hostages, Moses tried to reason with Hamas gunmen before he was taken by militants, along with his partner, Efrat Katz, her daughter and two visiting grandchildren.
An Israeli military investigation concluded that Katz was likely killed when an Israeli Air Force helicopter fired on the vehicle she was being brought back to Gaza in, during an attempt to rescue her.
Katz's daughter and grandchildren were freed in an earlier Israel-Hamas truce in November 2023.
Who are the Thai nationals?
Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat and Rumnao Surasak were five of an estimated 30,000 Thai farmworkers laboring in Israel during Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks.
According to the Thai foreign ministry, at least 39 Thai agricultural workers were killed, and at least 31 were taken hostage. Twenty-three Thai hostages were released in November's truce.
What to know about the Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Israel's ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners deal with Hamas is unfolding in three stages. It's still in stage one, which started on Jan. 19 and is due to last for 42 days. The deal's first stage calls for a total of 33 Israeli hostages to be handed over in the first phase, in return for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. The truce's second stage, still to be negotiated, calls for a permanent ceasefire as well as additional swaps of hostages for prisoners.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire: Does Trump deserve credit?
More than 80 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 are still in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed by Israel's Defense Forces to be dead. Hamas is holding seven dual American-Israeli citizens. Three are believed to be alive. Two ? Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel ? could be released as early as Saturday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eight hostages back in Israel after release by Hamas