Israeli intelligence leak details extent of warnings over Hamas attack

Officer who reviewed intelligence considered risk of big attack ‘an imaginary scenario’, leak suggests

Israel’s military and intelligence officials were given a highly detailed warning that Hamas was actively training to take over kibbutzim on the Gaza border and overrun military posts with the aim of inflicting substantial fatalities, according to reports in the Israeli media.

The claim made by Israel’s Channel 12 on Monday evening was based on leaked emails from the Israeli military’s 8200 cyber-intelligence unit discussing the warnings.

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Israel says 30 Palestinians released after 12 hostages returned from Gaza – as it happened

Israel says Palestinians have been freed after nine women, a child and two foreign nationals were handed to the Red Cross

Another batch of 10 Israeli hostages are expected to be released by Hamas today, in line with the extension of the ceasefire. The Guardian has been keeping track of those released so far here:

A London surgeon has described witnessing a “massacre unfold” during 43 days spent under bombardment in Gaza, saying the destruction of the Palestinian health system was a military objective of the war.

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More Israeli hostages and Palestinians freed as ceasefire extension agreed

Celebrations as Hamas releases 11 hostages from Gaza in exchange for 33 Palestinians in Israeli jails as truce extended by two days

Eleven more Israeli hostages have been freed from Gaza in return for dozens of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, as the two sides agreed to extend the existing ceasefire by two days.

Hamas released the hostages – nine children and two women – late on Monday, with all of them from the Nir Oz kibbutz, according to officials from the community. A further release in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails is scheduled to take place later on Tuesday.

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Deal agreed to extend Gaza ceasefire for two days, say Hamas and Qatar

Palestinian group says it has agreed to continuation of truce with same conditions, but Israel has not commented

A deal to extend the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by two days has been agreed after a frantic dash by mediators with just over 12 hours remaining before hostilities in Gaza were due to resume.

Hamas said it had agreed to the extension of the four-day truce by 48 hours after the intervention of Qatar and Egypt, the principal mediators for the initial agreement, and with the same conditions.

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London surgeon says he saw ‘massacre unfold’ while working in Gaza hospitals

Prof Ghassan Abu-Sittah claims destruction of Palestinian health system was an Israeli objective

A London surgeon has described witnessing a “massacre unfold” during 43 days spent under bombardment in Gaza, saying the destruction of the Palestinian health system was a military objective of the war.

Speaking at a press conference in London, Prof Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, who will later give evidence to Scotland Yard, told of horrific scenes at al-Ahli Arab and Dar al-Shifa hospitals as they ceased to function and said he witnessed the use of white phosphorus munitions. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have denied using such weapons.

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Israel-Hamas war: 57 journalists killed in conflict, Committee to Protect Journalists says – as it happened

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Hani Mahmoud, reporting for Al Jazeera from Khan Younis inside Gaza, says that people there consider it “an incomplete and unfair truce” as they are being forbidden from travelling from the south back to their homes and families in the north.

He says Palestinians are “taking this opportunity to secure necessities such as food and water. It’s also an opportunity to grieve properly and to hold proper funerals”.

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Israel and Hamas exchange more hostages and prisoners as US hopeful of truce extension

Israel frees more prisoners in exchange but insists its military campaign in Gaza is far from over

The third exchange of hostages and prisoners between Hamas and Israel has taken place as the US expressed hope that a fragile four-day truce in Gaza would be extended beyond Monday, while Israel indicated its campaign was far from over.

Israel said 17 hostages were released by Hamas, including a Russian national and three Thai nationals. The Israelis were all women or children. Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners, also women and children, were freed from Israeli jails, authorities said.

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‘We hoped and prayed’: four-year-old American girl among hostages released

Abigail Mor Edan, who was one of three US hostages, was among the 17 captives freed on Sunday under cease-fire terms

A four-year-old Israeli American girl who was among three US hostages held by Hamas was released Sunday.

President Joe Biden confirmed on Sunday that the girl – Abigail Mor Edan – was in the hands of Red Cross officials.

Associated Press contributed reporting

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Israeli foreign minister accuses Irish taoiseach of legitimising terror over hostage statement

Eli Cohen criticised Leo Varadkar’s description of nine-year-old Emily Hand as being ‘lost’, not ‘kidnapped’

The Israeli government has accused Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, of legitimising terror and losing his moral compass by saying a freed Irish-Israeli hostage had been “lost” as opposed to kidnapped.

Eli Cohen, Israel’s foreign minister, on Sunday summoned the Irish ambassador to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem for a formal reprimand over Varadkar’s response to the release of nine-year-old Emily Hand, who was reunited with her family after 50 days as a hostage in Gaza.

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IDF messaging suggests Gaza truce unlikely to last much beyond Tuesday

Many expect pause to be extended if more hostages are released, but experts predict military campaign could run into next year

Gaza’s truce is unlikely to last significantly beyond Tuesday, with Israel’s military stepping up pressure on Sunday to restart the air and ground offensive in a campaign that some experts predict could run into next year.

The four-day halt in fighting, described by the Israel DefenceForces (IDF) as “an operational pause”, is scheduled to end on 7am on Tuesday if the agreed transfer of 50 hostages held by Hamas and others in Gaza goes to plan.

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Syria says Israeli strikes put Damascus airport out of service – as it happened

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Israel’s military has issued a statement about its activity in Jenin in the occupied West Bank overnight. In a post to social media, it said:

In the operation commanded by the 646th Reserve Brigade, five terrorists were eliminated, 21 wanted persons were arrested, a cargo laboratory was destroyed and an aircraft attacked from the air an armed terrorist squad that endangered the IDF forces.

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‘Overjoyed’: nine-year-old hostage Emily Hand returns to family in Israel

Relatives say they ‘can’t find the words to describe our emotions’ as Israeli-Irish girl comes back from Gaza

The family and friends of Emily Hand have spoken of their joy after Hamas released the nine-year-old Israeli-Irish girl from captivity in Gaza late on Saturday.

“Emily has come back to us,” her father, Thomas Hand, said after an emotional reunion at a hospital in Israel.

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Sixty-one trucks deliver aid to northern Gaza, says UN – as it happened

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Here are some pictures of Yaffa Adar, 85, as she was reunited with her family after being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

She had been kidnapped from Nir Oz and taken into the Gaza Strip in a golf cart on 7 October.

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Israel releases 39 Palestinian prisoners as Hamas frees 17 hostages in latest stage of ceasefire deal

Exchange takes place after ceasefire was plunged into crisis when Hamas accused Israel of blocking aid convoys

Prison authorities in Israel announced early on Sunday that they had released 39 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas freed 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals in the latest stage of a four-day ceasefire.

Television footage showed hostages on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing after leaving Gaza, as Hamas handed over the captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross late on Saturday.

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Hair, makeup and hopefully a sister back home: Palestinians await prisoner release

With 42 women and children set to be released under the ceasefire deal, hopes for family reunions are running high in the West Bank

The daughters of the Awad family were busy dressing up at their home in Qalandiya, on the West Bank side of the notorious checkpoint, on Saturday evening. Hair was curled and eyeliner applied; all four chose outfits in black and white to match their Palestinian keffiyeh scarves. The celebration was to mark the unexpected release of their big sister, Noorhan, 24, from prison in Israel. She was jailed eight years ago; the youngest, 10-year-old Mayar, does not remember her.

Their community centre was decked out with Palestinian flags and posters of Noorhan and two other young people from the neighbourhood. “So much has changed since Noorhan was home last,” said her mother Sumaya. “We are so excited. I don’t want to hope too much.”

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Who are the first hostages released from Gaza?

Hamas released 24 hostages on Friday, including 13 Israelis, one Filipino man and 10 Thai citizens

The group of hostages brought out of Gaza on the first day of the ceasefire with Israel included 13 Israelis, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino man.

The Israeli hostages included four children with female relatives, who were all visiting family at Nir Oz kibbutz when Hamas attacked on 7 October, and five elderly women, four of them residents of Nir Oz and one from a nearby kibbutz.

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‘Everybody is crying’: Thai relatives welcome release of hostages by Hamas

Group of nine men and one woman being treated in hospital before returning to Thailand to reunite with families

The 10 Thai hostages released on Friday are now being supervised in an Israeli hospital, the Thai government has said, adding that a further 20 of its nationals are still being held hostage.

In a statement, Thailand’s ministry of foreign affairs said the 10, who were among 24 hostages freed on Friday hours after a ceasefire was implemented, were now being accompanied by embassy officials and were staying at Shamir medical centre, south-east of Tel Aviv.

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Thailand’s PM says 12 of its citizens held hostage by Hamas have been freed

Srettha Thavisin confirms release of a dozen of at least 26 nationals being held after weeks of negotiations

A dozen of the 26 Thai nationals taken hostage by Hamas in the 7 October attacks in Israel have been released, Thailand’s prime minister has said.

Srettha Thavisin said on X he had received confirmation of their release, and that Thai embassy officials were going to pick them up.

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Hamas releases 24 hostages on first day of Gaza ceasefire

On day of high tension, Israel also releases Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian convoy enters Gaza

The first group of hostages walked free from Gaza on Friday on a day of high tension and profound relief – but also acute concern for the future after weeks of relentless violence in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Twenty-four hostages were released by Hamas – 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and a Philippine national – as part of a deal that has brought about a temporary pause in hostilities and includes the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

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