Release of Hostages in the Second Round of Swaps Within the past few hours, Hamas has released 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals in the second round of swaps under the four-day ceasefire deal. This exchange comes after Hamas initially delayed the process, claiming that Israel had violated the terms of their agreement. The Release of Hostages Among the freed hostages are six Israeli women and seven children. They were escorted first through the Rafah Crossing in Egypt and then into Israel via the Kerem Shalom Crossing. The hostages range in age from 3 to 67. One of the children, 9-year-old Emily Hand, is a girl whose father believed she was dead for weeks before finding out that she was being held hostage. In exchange for the release of the hostages, Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners. This deal, however, faced a last-minute delay that led to a tense standoff on the second day of the supposed four-day ceasefire. Delays and Allegations