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.”

Continue reading...

Hamas says it will delay next hostage releases over Gaza aid dispute

Second brokered release will not happen until Israel allows aid trucks to enter northern Gaza, says militant group

Hamas’s armed wing said they will delay Saturday’s brokered second release of hostages until Israel allows aid trucks to enter northern Gaza.

The announcement comes a day after the release of dozens of hostages held by militants, as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, as part of a deal brokered by Qatar with the support of the US which has brought about a temporary pause in hostilities.

Continue reading...

Israeli boy embraces family members in hospital corridor after hostage release

Video shows Ohad Munder, nine, running into father’s arms as total of 24 people freed by Hamas in prisoner exchange

The moment a Rubik’s-cube-loving boy who spent his ninth birthday as a hostage in Gaza was freed from captivity on the first day of a four-day truce and prisoner exchange has been captured on video.

Footage released by the Schneider children’s medical centre showed Ohad Munder running through a hospital corridor into his father’s arms as the pair were reunited after almost 50 days without any contact.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

‘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.

Continue reading...

‘I won’t believe it until I see it’: Palestinians gather to greet freed prisoners

Families await possible reunion with detained women and children as Israel reportedly releases 39 in ceasefire deal

As the sun began to set on Friday, thousands of Palestinians gathered at an Israeli checkpoint north of Jerusalem, next to the notorious Ofer military prison, in the hopes that imprisoned loved ones would return home as part of a ceasefire deal in the seven-week-old war between Israel and Hamas.

Qatari officials said 39 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails were released on Friday night. That came in exchange for the safe return of 13 Israelis held in the Gaza Strip as hostages since Hamas attacked communities in the south of the country last month, sparking the deadliest round of fighting in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict to date.

Continue reading...

‘It’s not yet post-traumatic stress disorder … we’re still in it’: Israel, a nation at war

Jonathan Freedland talks to survivors, displaced people and senior political and military figures about life in Israel before and after 7 October, and considers the longer-term ramifications

Israel-Hamas war – latest updates

The war is paused, but it is not over.

There will be relief at the promised four days of quiet between Israel and Hamas, and there will be joy for the families waiting to be reunited with loved ones, thanks to Friday’s exchange of hostages held in Gaza for prisoners held in Israel.

Continue reading...

‘It brings hope’: in Tel Aviv plaza, cheers greet news of hostage release

Hundreds waiting in ‘Hostages Square’ sing songs as the names of those being released filter out

In the heart of Tel Aviv, several hundred people waited in the plaza now called Hostages Square. As darkness fell the mood was melancholic but hopeful as people waited for a confirmation that 13 women and children held by Hamas had been freed as planned. Then came a cheer as news of their release was confirmed.

People sang Shabbat or old folklore songs as they waited outside the Museum of Art, where among the most poignant displays was an empty dinner table, surrounded by 240 empty seats, representing each of the missing hostages, not just the handful in the slow process of coming home.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

Biggest aid convoy since start of war enters Gaza – as it happened

This blog is now closed. See all our Israel-Hamas war coverage here

One woman has been killed and three others wounded after Israeli forces raided the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, Al Jazeera is reporting, citing Dr Munir al-Bursh, the director general of the Hamas-run ministry of health in Gaza.

Another three people were arrested at the hospital, which has been forced to cease operations. As of Thursday, there were an estimated 550 patients remaining at the hospital, as well as 200 medical workers and at least 1,500 displaced Palestinians sheltering at the hospital, according to Al Jazeera.

Last night, Israeli forces attacked the hospital with tanks and destroyed all of the first floor. The damage was very bad.

Previously, they had attacked the third floor. They arrested at least three people. This is their way of taking over the hospitals before the ceasefire today.

IDPs [internally displaced persons] interviewed by OCHA reported that Israeli forces had established an unstaffed checkpoint where people are directed from a distance to pass through two structures, where a surveillance system is thought to be installed.

IDPs are ordered to show their IDs and undergo what appears to be a facial recognition scan.

Continue reading...

Israel and Hamas have strong reasons not to extend Gaza ceasefire

Hamas risks losing leverage if all hostages are freed, and Benjamin Netanyahu promised a full victory

Diplomats hope to announce plans to extend the four-day temporary ceasefire in Gaza well before it ends, but have to persuade the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that he is not being lured into a trap that will extend Hamas’s rule in Gaza.

Lists of Hamas-held hostages have been drawn up going beyond the 50 captives expected to be released over the next four days. But those involved in the talks acknowledge the difficulties, including the likelihood that Hamas may seek the release of a proportionally higher number of Palestinians than the one for three ratio agreed for the first tranche of hostages. There are as many as 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including some serving multiple life sentences for murder.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

Houthi attacks on Israel jeopardise Saudi peace efforts in Yemen

US reportedly willing to attack Houthi military sites unless Houthis release Israeli-linked ship seized on Sunday

Advanced plans by Saudi Arabia to strike a peace deal with the Houthi rebels in Yemen are being jeopardised by Houthi attacks on Israel and this week’s seizure of an Israeli-linked commercial vessel in the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia hopes it can maintain a firewall between the Yemen peace talks and the Houthis’ attacks on Israel, but in London and Washington there is pressure to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organisation, which would threaten any deal.

Continue reading...

David Cameron expresses hopes over temporary truce during visit to Israel

UK foreign secretary hopes situation will provide opportunity to ‘get hostages out and get aid into Gaza’

David Cameron has met Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, during a visit to Israel, expressing hope that the planned temporary truce with Hamas would be an “opportunity to crucially get hostages out and get aid into Gaza”.

The ceasefire is due to begin on Friday morning from 7am local time, with aid “going in as soon as possible”, according to Qatari officials. The first set of civilians held captive by Hamas are expected to be freed at about 4pm local time on Friday, including 13 women and children.

Continue reading...

Israel arrests Gaza hospital director and bombs 300 targets amid truce delay

IDF claims al-Shifa hospital was Hamas command and control centre as footage of tunnels and underground rooms appears

Israel’s army has arrested the director of Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital and bombed at least 300 targets from the air, killing dozens of Palestinians, as an agreed four-day truce was delayed until Friday.

Mohammad abu Salmiya and other medics were detained, a colleague said, amid reports that members of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had seized them as they were travelling with a World Health Organization evacuation convoy.

Continue reading...

Gaza ceasefire to begin on Friday morning with hostage releases to follow

Negotiators work out final details of four-day truce between Israel and Hamas after seven weeks of conflict

A four-day ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will begin on Friday morning, a day later than originally announced, after negotiators worked out final details of the deal, which will lead to the release of dozens of hostages held by militants as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The diplomatic breakthrough promises the first pause in seven weeks of war in Gaza and some relief both for the 2.3 million Palestinians in the territory who have endured intensive Israeli bombardment, and for families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during the bloody attack launched last month by Hamas that triggered the conflict.

Continue reading...

Number of Palestinians killed is ‘truly unbearable’, says Spanish PM

Pedro Sánchez says all civilians must be protected in Israel-Hamas war and reiterates call for two-state solution

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has urged Israel to rethink its offensive in Gaza, telling its president and prime minister the number of dead Palestinians is “truly unbearable”, and that the response to Hamas’s terrorist attacks last month cannot include “the deaths of innocent civilians, including thousands of children”.

Sánchez’s blunt pleas came during a visit to the Middle East with the Belgian prime minister, Alexander de Croo, during which he called for a peace conference and reiterated that the creation of a Palestinian state remained the best way to bring peace and security to the region.

Continue reading...

Israel-Hamas war live: Israel vows to continue ‘intense’ fighting after ceasefire; Hamas reportedly to release 23 Thai hostages

Ceasefire to begin and first hostages to be released on Friday but Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, says ‘respite will be short’

The German interior ministry says it is conducting searches in four federal states in relation to formerly announced bans of activities of Hamas, already a designated terrorist organisation in the country, as well as pro-Palestinian group Samidoun, Reuters reports.

“We continue our consistent action against radical Islamists,” German interior minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Adviser warns UK government against tightening laws on glorifying terrorism

Independent reviewer says change could harm freedom of speech and further strain overtaxed security services

No 10 should not implement plans to amend the law on glorifying terrorism after the pro-Palestine marches as it would do “no favours” to police, MI5 or the probation service, a government adviser has said.

In a 15-page report submitted to the Home Office, Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said there was no need to respond to the marches with new terrorism legislation, adding that there was “good reason for caution” given both the risk of unintended consequences and the drain on limited state resources.

Continue reading...

Secrecy and public anger: how the Israel/Hamas ceasefire deal came about

Increasing pressure from the US and from the families of Israeli hostages were vital in securing agreement for the four-day truce

The hostage deal that was finally agreed by the Israeli cabinet in the early hours of Wednesday was very similar in outline to what was on the table a month ago, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

In the intervening weeks, a lot has happened to turn the proposal to exchange women and children prisoners during a ceasefire into a near-reality.

Continue reading...