Hamas releases first seven of remaining 20 Israeli hostages

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu says prisoner release ‘is the beginning of a new path’

Members of Hamas military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, stand guard next to vehicles carrying released Israeli hostages on a main road in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza strip on Monday. Photograph: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty
Members of Hamas military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, stand guard next to vehicles carrying released Israeli hostages on a main road in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza strip on Monday. Photograph: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty