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
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...This bog is now closed. All our Israel-Hamas war coverage can be seen here.
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.
Continue reading...People trying to escape Israeli bombardment have to cope without the most basic life necessities
Dogs biting at a human corpse. An exhausted, heavily pregnant woman carrying a toddler on her back. A seemingly lifeless body pushed on a cart. The sights of the Salah al-Din road, the main highway that runs like a spine through Gaza, remain with those who’ve walked it.
“What we experienced cannot be seen in horror movies,” said Nahla from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
Continue reading...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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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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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...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...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...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...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...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...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...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...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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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...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...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...