Israel-Gaza hostages – latest: More hostages to be released during second day of temporary ceasefire
The latest round of Hamas hostage swaps for Palestinian prisoners has been announced for the second day of the temporary truce.
The Independent has learned that 14 hostages, inlcuding eight children, will be exchanged today for 42 Palestinians.
Israeli security officials said late on Friday they were reviewing a list of the potential next wave of hostages who could be released in the coming days.
Earlier on Friday, a total of 24 hostages were released from Gaza and transported through the Rafah crossing into Egypt after seven weeks in captivity.
The exchange is the beginning phase of an agreement expected to free upwards of 50 captives of Hamas.
The militant group released 13 Israeli women and children to the Red Cross Friday afternoon as Hamas and Israel maintained a temporary ceasefire, while 39 Palestinian women and teen boys have been released so far from Israeli detention in return.
Ten Thai nationals and one Filipino held hostage by Hamas were also released as part of a separate, Qatar-backed agreement. The Israeli military warned civilians in Gaza that the “war is not over” and will continue.
Key Points
Red Cross confirms 24 hostages released
List of hostages released by Israeli media
39 Palestinian prisoners released into the West Bank
‘War is not over,’ IDF warns Gaza civilians
Four-day Gaza ceasefire begins
Displaced Palestinians return to their ravaged homes
Qatari delegation discusses possible truce extension with Israel - official
16:00 , Tom Watling
A Qatari delegation visited Israel on Saturday to discuss a possible extension of a four-day truce between Hamas and Israel that started on Friday, an official briefed on the visit said.
The Qatari operations team also coordinated with Israeli officials to ensure the truce and hostage releases continue smoothly, the official said.
Free at last: Hamas releases 24 hostages as Gaza ceasefire holds
15:15 , Tom Watling
Twenty-four hostages have been released after seven weeks held captive inside Gaza on the first day of a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.
It was a moment of joy after weeks of worry for some of the families of the 240 people kidnapped by the militant group during the 7 October attack on Israel when 1,200 people were killed. In exchange for the 13 Israelis freed – nine women and four children under 10 – Israel released 39 Palestinians, also a mix of women and minors, imprisoned in Israel’s jails as part of the four-day ceasefire deal. Ten Thai nationals and one Filipino were also freed by Hamas outside of that deal.
If the releases were a dramatic landmark moment, Gaza residents shared their relief at a period of “calmness”, saying families used the rare pause to gather supplies, find family members and bury their dead after ferocious Israeli bombardment in the wake of the Hamas attack.
Free at last: Hamas releases 24 hostages as Gaza ceasefire holds
Polish citizen was among hostages released from Gaza, says foreign ministry
14:45 , Tom Watling
A Polish citizen was among hostages released from Gaza, Poland’s foreign ministry said on Saturday, as it welcomed news of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hama conflict.
“We welcome the information about the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which allowed the release of the first group of hostages, including a Polish citizen, and increased supplies of humanitarian aid to the enclave,” the ministry said in a statement.
“At the same time, Poland continues to firmly demand that Israel consent to the safe departure from the Gaza Strip by other Polish citizens.”
Some of the hostages released on Friday held dual-citizenship.
Watch live: Pro-Palestine protesters march in London after hostages freed by Hamas
14:15 , Tom Watling
Watch live as Pro-Palestine protesters march in London on Saturday, 25 November, after the first hostages were freed in a four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Under the agreement, a total of 50 Israeli hostages will be freed in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
Thirteen Israeli women and children held in captivity by the militant group in Gaza were released on Friday evening, while 39 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons.
Watch live: Pro-Palestine protesters march in London after hostages freed by Hamas
13:45 , Tom Watling
Adva, Alon and Orian, the grandchildren of Yaffa Adar, who returned to Israel yesterday after 49 days in Hamas captivity, have issued a message calling for all hostages to be released.
In a video message, they said: “We were happy and very excited to see grandma. Her resilience moved us very much, it’s inspiring.
“We want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the citizens of the State of Israel.
“We ask everyone to remember, we can’t see the sun yet because there are many more people still out there.
“We need everyone with us at home, don’t stop until the last abductee comes home to us.
“We will be today at 19:00 in the evening together with all the people of Israel in the kidnappers’ square to hug the families who did not hug their loved ones.
“Everyone who can come be with us and hug us.”
Who are the 13 Israelis freed by Hamas?
13:12 , Josh Marcus
Thirteen Israeli hostages were released from Gaza on Friday at the start of a four-day truce that Qatar called a “catalyst for long-term peace” and a “glimmer of light at the end of tunnel”.
Get all the details.
Qatar says Gaza hostage deal ‘can be catalyst for peace’ as 13 captives to be freed
Nine-year-old hostage hugs father for first time after release from Gaza
12:45 , Tom Watling
A nine-year-old who was held hostage by Hamas hugged his father for the first time on Friday night (24 November) after being freed.
Ohad Monder, his mother Karen, and his grandmother Ruthi returned to Israel last night to a designated compound and reunited with family members.
The Independent has learned that 14 hostages, including eight children, will be exchanged on Saturday for 42 Palestinians.
It comes after the militant group released 13 Israeli women and children to the Red Cross on Friday afternoon as Hamas and Israel maintained a temporary ceasefire, while 39 Palestinian women and teenage boys have been released so far from Israeli detention in return.
Nine-year-old hostage hugs father for first time after release from Gaza
Police to hand pro-Palestine protesters leaflets for ‘clarity’ on potential crimes
12:15 , Tom Watling
Tens of thousands are expected to gather in London for the latest pro-Palestinian demonstration calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Around 1,500 officers will be deployed for the protest, which comes amid a temporary truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict and the release of 24 hostages by Hamas in exchange for 39 Palestinians held by Israel.
Around 100,000 people are expected to march on Saturday from Park Lane to Whitehall.
Police to hand pro-Palestine protesters leaflets for ‘clarity’ on potential crimes
Family of four reunited after wife and two daughters returned from Gaza
12:00 , Tom Watling
A father and husband has been reunited with his two young daughters and wife after all three were returned from Gaza having been held by Hamas for 49 days.
Pictures released by the Schneider Children’s Medical Center, where the released hostages were being assessed, showed Doron Asher with her two daughters Aviv, 2, and Raz, 4, hugging her husband and the girls’ father Yoni.
Convoy of aid arrives in Gaza on second day of Israel-Hamas ceasefire
11:45 , Tom Watling
A convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, 25 November, on the second day of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
It comes after aid reached northern Gaza for the first time in over a month on Friday.
The UN said the pause has enabled it to scale up the delivery of food, water, and medicine to the largest volume since the resumption of humanitarian aid convoys on 21 October.
All imports into Gaza have been barred by Israel throughout the conflict, except for a minimal amount of supplies from Egypt.
Convoy of aid arrives in Gaza on second day of Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Multiple fuel tanks enter Gaza strip
11:30 , Tom Watling
Four tanks of fuel and a further four carrying cooking gas were transferred from Egypt to the United Nations humanitarian aid organizations in the southern Gaza Strip this morning.
The Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the defence ministry unit that coordinates with the Palestinians, confirmed the transfer.
The fuel and cooking gas are designated for operating essential humanitarian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
How many Palestinians has Israel released in Hamas hostage deal? And how many are in Israeli prisons in total?
11:15 , Tom Watling
A four-day truce has started which will see a total of 50 Israeli hostages released in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
The first group of hostages - 13 Israeli women and children held in captivity by Hamas militants in Gaza - were released this evening
At the same time, a total of 39 Palestinians - three for every Israeli - were released from Israeli prisons, with the inmates will handed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and gathered at Israel’s Ofer military jail before going home.
Palestinian officials told the list included 24 women and 15 teenage boys.
How many Palestinian prisoners has Israel released in Hamas hostage deal?
Father of Irish-Israeli child hostage says he is living through ‘nightmare’
10:45 , Tom Watling
Thomas Hand initially thought his daughter Emily, who had been attending a sleepover at a friend’s house, had been killed on October 7, but was later told she had been kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri and taken to Gaza.
More details on his daughter’s story in our full article by Sam Hall.
Father of Irish-Israeli child hostage says he is living through ‘nightmare’
Six-year-old Hamas hostage hugs grandmother after being released in swap deal
10:14 , Tom Watling
Six-year-old Israeli Amelia Aloni has been reunited with her grandmother and other family members 49 days after being kidnapped by Hamas.
Amelia and her mother Daniel, 44, were taken by Hamas on 7 October from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
The mother and daughter returned to Israel last night to the designated complex at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center.
Photo courtesy of the family.
‘Mum’s back!’ Israeli hostage pictured with her family a day after her release
09:59 , Tom Watling
A 78-year-old woman released by Hamas in a hostage/prisoner swap yesterday has been pictured with her family this morning.
Yair Moses, the son of Margalit Moses, posted a picture on Facebook with the caption: “Mom is back at it!”
Ms Moses, her close neighbor and ex-husband Gadi Moses were both taken to Gaza on 7 October. Mr Moses is believed to be still in Gaza.
Israeli-owned ship ‘targeted in suspected Iranian drone attack in Indian Ocean’
09:31 , Tom Watling
A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire has come under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an American defence official said.
The attack on the CMA CGM Symi comes as global shipping increasingly finds itself targeted in the war that threatens to become a wider regional conflict - even as a truce has halted fighting and Hamas exchanges hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The US defence official said the Malta-flagged vessel was suspected to have been targeted by a triangle-shaped, bomb-carrying Shahed-136 drone while in international waters.
The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the official said.
The official declined to explain why the US military believe Iran was behind the attack.
What happens when the Gaza ceasefire ends?
09:12 , Josh Marcus
A four-day ceasefire in Gaza set to begin on Friday will allow for the release of 50 hostages, the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid, and a brief respite from the relentless bombardment of the densely populated territory for more than two million civilians.
But what happens when it ends?
The short answer is that the war will continue, and it may be even bloodier than before. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it bluntly on Wednesday during a live address about the hostage deal. “The war continues,” he said. “We continue until we have achieved complete victory.”
Richard Hall and Bel Trew have the details.
The 4-day Gaza ceasefire has begun – here’s what Israel could do next
Watch live as Israel and Hamas swap hostages and prisoners in four-day truce
09:00 , Tom Watling
Watch live as Israel and Hamas swap hostages and prisoners in four-day truce
Hamas hostages found in ‘good condition’ after return to Israel
08:40 , Tom Watling
Eight women and children returned to Israel last night after being held hostage by Hamas for 49 days were assessed as being in “good physical condition”.
Dr. Efrat Bron-Harlev, CEO of Schneider Children’s Medical Center, said the four children, three mothers and one grandmother are “undergoing medical and emotional assessment by the medical and psychosocial teams” but that their physical signs were strong.
“There are not enough words to express the emotion that we are feeling at this time together with the families and the entire nation of Israel,” Dr Bron-Harlev said.
“We will do our utmost to care for the physical and emotional health of the returned hostages. From our perspective, this is a national mission, and we are proud to have the privilege to treat them.
“Our hearts are with the other captives who are still in Gaza, and their families, and we hope that they will return to us, whole and healthy, in the very near future.”
Yoni Asher: Father whose family members were returned in hostage deal
08:12 , Josh Marcus
Yoni Asher is among the Israeli citizens whose family members have been freed as part of the opening stages of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
Last month, he sat down with The Independent to tell his story to Bel Trew.
The nightmare of watching my wife being taken hostage by Hamas in Israel
Nearly 200 aid trucks arrive in Gaza
08:05 , Tom Watling
Nearly 200 aid trucks arrived in Gaza yesterday through the Egyptian Rafah crossing, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has reported.
This amounts to a significant uptick in aid over a 24-hour period, though it is under the 200-300 truck per day agreement expected for the temporary truce.
It is also still considerably below the pre 7 October average of aid supplies, where it was usual to see 500 trucks a day entering Gaza.
📍The Palestine Red Crescent teams received 196 trucks loaded with aid through the Rafah crossing yesterday.
The trucks contain eight trucks of medical supplies and medicines, and four trucks of hospital beds while the remaining trucks contain food, water, and relief… pic.twitter.com/j16oX7nhyC— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 25, 2023
My daughter spent her ninth birthday in a Hamas cell – I can only hope she’s picked for the hostage release
07:12 , Josh Marcus
“On the morning of 7 October, my daughter Emily was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists,” her father Thomas Hand writes for Independent Voices.
“She was eight years old when she was taken, and turned nine just a few days ago. Down in the tunnels of Gaza, with no way to track the passage of time, she probably didn’t even know it was her birthday.”
Read more about Emily’s story.
Hamas took my daughter – I hope she’s part of the hostage release
ICYMI: His US teenage son won’t be among the freed Hamas hostages: ‘Hopefully he is alive’
06:12 , Josh Marcus
As millions of Americans gathered for turkey and pumpkin pie, one New York family was desperately missing their 19-year-old son, who is still being held hostage by Hamas.
“Today is Thanksgiving. As Americans we have an empty seat at the table — you do not want to live in my universe,” his father Ruby Chen told The Independent.
More details in our full story.
An empty seat at Thanksgiving. Families of Hamas hostages pray for their safe return
What Americans are still being held as hostages by Hamas?
05:12 , Josh Marcus
Americans, including both civilians and personnel in the Israeli defence forces, are currently being held hostage by Hamas.
Here are some of their stories, including a father whose son was violently taken from kibbutz Nir Oz.
The US hostages that won’t be released in Hamas prisoner swap
Will hostage deal be a ‘catalyst for peace’?
04:12 , Josh Marcus
Thirteen Israeli hostages will be released from Gaza today at the start of a four-day truce that Qatar called a “catalyst for long-term peace” and a “glimmer of light at the end of tunnel”.
Under the terms of the breakthrough deal, brokered by Doha and Washington, Hamas militants will free 50 women and children they abducted in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and teenagers from Israeli prisons.
The agreement, secured after weeks of fraught negotiations, also allows for the pause in hostilities to be extended daily provided more hostages are released.
Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari foreign ministry, told The Independent the world must use the “momentum” from the truce to end the bloodshed.
Bel Trew reports.
Qatar says Gaza hostage deal ‘can be catalyst for peace’ as 13 captives to be freed
Israel reviews list of hostages set to be freed by Hamas today
03:43 , Stuti Mishra
Israel has received a list of hostages to be freed from Gaza today by Hamas, officials said, following the release of 24 hostages the previous day.
Israeli security officials were reviewing the list amid a planned four-day truce, the office of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, after his government's vow to work for the release all the hostages that were taken by Hamas following an attack on Israel on 7 October.
The pause in the fighting was the first such break, with both sides saying hostilities would resume as soon as the truce ends. US president Joe Biden, however, expressed hope the pause could be extended.
The released hostages, including Israeli women and children and Thai farm workers, were transferred from Gaza and handed to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing, along with eight staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross in a four-car convoy, the organisation said.
ICYMI: No Americans among first round of hostages released in ceasefire deal
03:12 , Josh Marcus
None of the estimated 10 Americans held hostage in Gaza were part of the first group of 24 captives released on Friday. The hostages were released as part of an Israel-Hamas deal to free upwards of 50 people captured in the 7 October attacks.
“We don’t know when that will occur, but we’re gonna be expecting it to occur,” President Joe Biden said during remarks on Friday about the fate of the hostages. “We don’t know what the list of all the hostages are and when they’ll be released, but we know the numbers that are gonna be released. So it’s my hope and expectation that it’ll be soon.”
“We don’t know all of their conditions,” he added.
Three Americans, including two women and a four-year-old girl named Abigail Edan, are expected to be among the first 50 hostages held by Hamas to be released, the president continued.
No Americans among first round of hostages released in ceasefire deal
What Palestinians did during first day of ceasefire
02:12 , Josh Marcus
Palestinians in Gaza have spoken of their intense relief at a period of “calmness” that has brought areas “back to life” at the start of a four-day truce – the first respite in a ferocious seven-week bombardment that has killed more than 14,000 people and displaced more than one million.
People emerged from their homes to collect belongings, bury the dead, and locate missing family members. There were moments of levity among the carnage, with families visiting the beach to bathe in the ocean and children making the most of the sky being free of fighter jets.
Under a Qatari-brokered deal, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will be in place during the release of a total of 50 Israeli women and children, held hostage since 7 October when Hamas launched an attack inside Israel during which 1,200 people were killed. In tandem with the hostages being freed, 150 Palestinians jailed inside Israeli prisons will also be released.
For families in Gaza, the temporary pause marks the first moment of calm after Israel unleashed its heaviest-ever bombardment of the Hamas-run territory in response to the Hamas attack.
Sara, 21 a Palestinian student who has lost dozens of family members and friends in the bombing and has been displaced three times in war, said that her parents left on foot to try to work out the fate of relatives in another southern town that they had lost contact with.
Bel Trew has the full story.
How Palestinians are spending the first day of Gaza ceasefire
Israeli police shut down celebrations over freed Palestinians with tear gas: report
01:10 , Josh Marcus
As scores of Palestinians gathered near Israel’s Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, Israeli police reportedly tried to shut down demonstrations, firing tear gas to disperse jubilant crowds celebrating the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners, per The Associated Press.
“The army is trying to take this moment away from us but they can’t,” Mays Foqaha, a friend of the one of the newly released detainees, told the AP. ”This is our day of victory.”
WATCH: Extra aid trucks begin rolling into Gaza
00:50 , Josh Marcus
In addition to hostages being released, a key part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire will see additional humanitarian aid trucks reaching Gaza over the coming days.
COGAT, an Israeli agency that coordinates activities with the Palestinian Authority, shared footage of a reported 200 trucks entering the Palestinian territory on Friday.
Today, Nov. 24, 200 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were transferred to international organizations working in the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing. This was approved by Israel as part of the humanitarian pause and the framework for the release of the hostages. pic.twitter.com/51s9ARnGpM
— COGAT (@cogatonline) November 24, 2023
Israeli intelligence reportedly ignored warnings of Hamas attack
00:30 , Josh Marcus
Ever since 7 October, observers have been wondering how the Hamas militant group was able to mount a suprise attack into Israel, which boasts one of the most technologically advanced militaries in the world.
According to new reporting from Haaretz, Israeli security officials may have ignored internal warnings of a coming attack.
The country’s military intelligence was aware for over a year that Hamas may’ve been planning an attack, and two months before the suprise offensive, an officer warned that the assault was a possibility, according to the paper.
Israel has list of second wave of hostages to be freed: report
00:08 , Josh Marcus
The Israeli government is reviewing a new list of potential hostages who may be released in the coming days, after 13 were freed from Hamas captivity on Friday as part of a ceasefire deal.
The list was given to Israeli intelligence and military services, the prime minister’s office told The New York Times.
Were any US hostages freed today?
Friday 24 November 2023 23:40 , Josh Marcus
None of the estimated 10 Americans held hostage in Gaza were part of the first group of 24 captives released on Friday. The hostages were released as part of an Israel-Hamas deal to free upwards of 50 people captured in the 7 October attacks.
“We don’t know when that will occur, but we’re gonna be expecting it to occur,” President Joe Biden said during remarks on Friday about the fate of the hostages. “We don’t know what the list of all the hostages are and when they’ll be released, but we know the numbers that are gonna be released. So it’s my hope and expectation that it’ll be soon.”
“We don’t know all of their conditions,” he added.
Three Americans, including two women and a four-year-old girl named Abigail Edan, are expected to be among the first 50 hostages held by Hamas to be released, the president continued.
More details in our full story.
No Americans among first round of hostages released in ceasefire deal
Ceasefire will increase Gaza aid trucks, but not even ‘scratching the surface’ of need
Friday 24 November 2023 23:21 , Josh Marcus
The four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will temporarily allow an increased number of aid trucks to pass into Gaza, from roughly 45 per day to an estimated 200.
The shipments will include food, water, medical supplies, and fuel, but are not enough to remedy the “beyond catastrophic” situation in the besieged enclave, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society humanitarian group.
“This aid is not enough,” spokesperson Nebal Farsakh told CNN on Monday. “It’s not even stratching the surface of the need of over 2 million civilians who are lacking food and clean water.”
The 2.3m people of Gaza have been without steady access to electricity, fuel, and water for weeks, with most major hospitals suspending operations or becoming battlefields themselves.
About three-quarters of Gaza’s population are displaced from their homes, according to the UN children’s agency in Gaza.
About half of Gaza’s overall population are children.
No Americans among first hostages released by Hamas
Friday 24 November 2023 23:05 , Josh Marcus
Despite expectations that some US citizens might be released today, no Americans were among the first two-dozen Hamas hostages released from captivity on Friday.
In remarks on Friday morning, Joe Biden said he didn’t know when the estimated nine US citizens and a permanent resident would be freed from Hamas, but that he expects it soon.
Instead, the initial release included Israeli, Thai, and Filipino nationals taken in Hamas’s brutal 7 October surprise attack.
Here’s our reporting on the US families waiting to hear from their loved ones.
An empty seat at Thanksgiving. Families of Hamas hostages pray for their safe return
The US hostages that won’t be released in Hamas prisoner swap
Husband of freed hostage says he will ‘not celebrate’ until all captives are home
Friday 24 November 2023 22:50 , Josh Marcus
Yoni Katz Asher, whose wife and two children were among the 13 Israeli hostages freed on Friday, described a feeling of immense relief.
“I am determined to help my family recover from the terrible trauma and loss we went through, for my daughters and my wife’s future,” he said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. “Difficult days are still ahead of me.”
He also called on the rest of Hamas’s hostages to be freed.
“I will not celebrate until the last of the hostages returns,” he added.
Mr Asher spoke with The Independent in the immediate aftermath of the 7 October attacks.
“I am speaking because I just want the world to take a good hard look at my family photos and realise that these two women and my two baby girls are now this moment being held by terrorists,” he said at the time.
“You cannot imagine what a parent could be thinking right now and what is going through my mind.”
More about his story here.
The nightmare of watching my wife being taken hostage by Hamas in Israel
Israeli health official describes unprecedented effort to care for released hostages
Friday 24 November 2023 22:33 , Josh Marcus
Israeli health officials are describing the highly complex challenge of receiving 13 hostages who were held for weeks as Hamas hostages.
“This is the first time the state of Israel has had to prepare for the arrival of so many hostages, including young children,” Dr Joseph Mendlovic, associate director general of the Ministry of Health, said late Friday from Israel’s Schneider’s Children Medical Center.
The facility is caring for a total of eight hostages: four children, three mothers, and a grandmother.
“This is compelx event, both medically and emotionally, for the released hostages who were returned to Israel, for their families, and for the entire people of Israel, whether in Israel or abroad,” Dr Mendlovic continued.
“We must ensure their privacy and dignity,” he added of the newly arrived patients.
Holocaust survivor kidnapped on golf cart released in hostage deal
Friday 24 November 2023 21:56 , Holly Evans
An 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October was among the first batch of hostages released on Friday.
Many around the world came to know of Yaffa Adar, the oldest of the released hostages, in the aftermath of the Hamas massacre.
Adar was taken from her home in the Nir Oz kibbutz in the attack, which killed some 1,200 people. A video of her riding in the back of a golf cart driven by armed Hamas fighters, smiling broadly in the face of a terrifying ordeal, became one of the defining images of that day.
“She’s putting on a brave face, taking charge of the situation and showing her captors a glimpse of the unbreakable resolve we all know her to have,” her granddaughter, Adva Adar told The Times of Israel at the time.
She was released on Friday and is now in Israel with her family
Hostages have arrived to Schneider children’s hospital in Petah Tikvah
Friday 24 November 2023 21:50 , Holly Evans
President Biden met with protesters in Nantucket chanting 'Free Palestine'
Friday 24 November 2023 21:36 , Holly Evans
Four children and four women arrive at Israeli hospital
Friday 24 November 2023 21:32 , Holly Evans
In a statement, the Schneider Children Hospital and the Ministry of Health said: “Four children and four women who returned to Israel came to the Schneider Children Hospital by Clalit Health.
“From a preliminary examination, it seems that their physical condition is good. A multidisciplinary professional team provides them with medical treatment and a customized and personal emotional first aide . These are sensitive moments for the families and for the returnees to Israel.
“We ask to maintain their privacy and dignity at these times.”
The four-day pause between Israel and Hamas offers hope of long-term peace
Friday 24 November 2023 21:15 , Holly Evans
The four-day pause in the fighting in Gaza comes as a relief to the helpless refugee population of Gaza, perhaps 1 million souls.
The sufferings of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, no less than the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October, have appalled people everywhere. This unspeakable violence cannot end, for good, soon enough.
It is thanks to intense international pressure (especially from the United States), tireless, exemplary diplomacy by Qatar and the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross that this easement in the pain has been achieved.
Read the full article here
Editorial: The four-day pause between Israel and Hamas offers hope of peace
Spain denounces 'indiscriminate' Gaza deaths, angering Israel
Friday 24 November 2023 20:49 , Holly Evans
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday denounced on a visit to the Gaza Strip border what he called the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians, drawing an angry response from Israel which said the remarks gave terrorism a boost.
While at the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Sanchez also called for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza “to reverse the catastrophic situation that the people of the Strip are going through.”
“The indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, including thousands of boys and girls, are completely unacceptable,” he said.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in a statement accused Sanchez and De Croo of “false claims” that “give terrorism a boost” and said he had summoned the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium to explain the comments.
Biden says he ‘will not stop’ until US hostages in Gaza brought home
Friday 24 November 2023 20:31 , Holly Evans
President Joe Biden on Friday vowed not to cease diplomatic efforts until all of the American hostages held by Hamas are returned to their families after it became known that no US nationals were among the first group of captives to be released.
Speaking from Nantucket Island, where he spent the Thanksgiving holiday with his family, Mr Biden called the first hostage releases, in exchange for a four-day pause in fighting, “the start of a process.”
“We expect more hostages to be released tomorrow. And more than a day after more than a day after that. Over the next few days, we expect that dozens of hostages will be returned to their families,” said the president, who acknowledged that the first group of 24 did not include any of the American nationals who were taken by Hamas during the attacks.
Read the full article here
Biden says he ‘will not stop’ until US hostages in Gaza brought home
