The release of the first hostages from Gaza dominates the front pages of Saturday’s newspapers after the first day of the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Guardian says “war is paused” as the 24 hostages are freed while the FT Weekend tells of “West Bank joy” as 39 Palestinian prisoners are released by Israel as the “truce takes hold in Gaza”.
“Freed at last” is the headline in the Daily Mirror, which says five children are among the released hostages, while The Independent opts for a similar headline as it tells of the “joy for waiting families”.
The iWeekend follows the same path, saying “free after 48 days” above a picture of hostages being released, but tells of “growing anger” at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu among the families of remaining hostages.
The same picture is used on the front of The Times, which says “at last, freedom for some” but also finds room on its front page for Home Secretary James Cleverly’s remarks that the Government’s Rwanda policy is not the “be all and end all”.
The Daily Telegraph also carries a picture of freed Israeli hostages, but leads on the chairman of Comic Relief’s resignation over the charity’s stance on Gaza.
Away from Gaza, the Daily Mail says a freeze on personal tax thresholds – which it describes as a “stealth tax raid on incomes” – could be scrapped in the Budget or the Conservative’s election manifesto, four years earlier than planned.
The Daily Express concentrates on Dame Esther Rantzen, who is looking forward to the “precious present” of a family Christmas as new drugs “hold back” her cancer.
And the Daily Star turns the spotlight on the maligned town of Stockton, proclaiming it a “garden of Eden” after it became embroiled in a parliamentary row.
