Fourteen Israeli citizens who were taken hostage in Gaza were released by the Palestinian terror group Hamas and brought back into Israel by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) as confirmed by Israel on Sunday evening. Additionally, three Thai citizens were also released through the Rafah crossing on Sunday night.
In the recent hostage releases by Hamas, despite the explicit stipulation in the details of the release deal that families cannot be separated, several families have been split up in the first two batches. This action by Hamas is seen as a form of “psychological warfare” and a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
On Saturday night, over 100,000 Israelis gathered in what is now referred to as “Hostage Square” outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The assembly marked the “50 Days of Hell” since Hamas’ attack on Israel on November 7, known as the “Black Sabbath,” during which the terrorist organization abducted approximately 240 hostages.
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that Hamas released 17 hostages, including 13 Israelis and 4 Thai citizens.
A Gaza hostage release deal was back on track Saturday night after a row with Hamas over aid supplies to the north of the Palestinian enclave was resolved following mediation by Qatar and Egypt, several sources confirmed.
Exhausted but hopeful, twenty-four former hostages enjoyed their first Jewish Sabbath in freedom since Hamas released them Friday, ending a near seven-week ordeal.
The first group of Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas and taken by the International Committee of the Red Cross in ambulances from Khan Younis in southern Gaza to the Rafah crossing with Egypt in preparation for their transfer to Israel, Israeli sources said Friday.
A tense ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began in the Gaza Strip early Friday ahead of a long-anticipated release of hostages.
On Wednesday, fighter jets from the Israeli Air Force reportedly targeted two sites in the Damascus area, which reportedly targeted Lebanon’s Hezbollah Terrorist Organization, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Israel achieved a historic milestone by deploying its “Iron Beam” laser defense system for the first time in operational use during the conflict with Hamas, according to Israeli Channel 14 on Monday.
On Thursday, Hezbollah unleashed a substantial rocket barrage on northern Israel, marking one of the most extensive attacks from Lebanon since October 7, just hours before a ceasefire was to go into effect.
Amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, and threats from Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon, on Wednesday the Israel Air Force intercepted a cruise missile heading toward the southern Israeli city of Eilat on the Red Sea, the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) reports. The missile did not enter Israeli territory, the IAF said.
Exhausted and tearful Israeli families praying and hoping to see their loved ones faced renewed uncertainty Thursday as Israeli officials said a ceasefire and hostage deal will not come into effect until Friday at the earliest.
Arab Gulf nations have indicated that a condition for obtaining their financial aid to rebuild the Gaza Strip after the Hamas-Israel war has ended is a change in the leadership of the Palestinian Authority which currently governs only the West Bank, i24 News reports.
According to a Hezbollah source cited by Al Jazeera, Hezbollah will participate in the upcoming four-day ceasefire starting tomorrow, even though it was not part of the Israel-Hamas negotiation. The hostage deal made with Hamas may lead to the release of up to 50 hostages over the next four days.
Israel’s government has agreed on a controversial deal with Hamas that would ensure the release of more than 50 hostages, mostly women and children, within four days in exchange for a pause in the fighting and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday that he believes a deal “is near” to free hundreds of Israeli and other hostages held by Hamas in Gaza although deadly clashes continued, including around a hospital.
Clashes along the Lebanese border persisted on Monday as Hezbollah terrorists fired rockets and deployed drones in northern Israel, causing substantial damage to an Israeli army base during one of the attacks.
Israel last week pulled no punches in accusing the United Nations and the World Health Organization of “complicity” in Hamas war crimes because these agencies did not stop the terror group from using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as bases from which to attack Israelis, Israel365 reports.
A new poll shows a combined total of 75% of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip support Hamas’ devastating Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians, although Gaza residents are significantly less supportive of it, the Jerusalem Post reports. The survey was conducted on November 14 by the Arab World for Research and Development organization.