Hostages
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These pictures show freed Palestinian prisoner Israa Jaabis being welcomed home by her family in Jerusalem. She was part of the second round of 39 prisoners freed by Israel in exchange for hostages freed by Hamas. Israel has agreed to free 150 Palestinian prisoners in return for the release of 50 Israeli hostages. A further…
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In an update to our earlier post, Palestinian health officials say Israeli forces have killed at least eight people in the West Bank in the past day. The Palestinian health ministry said five people were killed in Jenin. Three others have been killed in separate areas of the West Bank since Saturday morning, it added. One…
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There was a “sense of immense relief” as the second round of Israeli hostages left Gaza last night, a Red Cross official has said. Pascal Hundt was in the convoy of Red Cross cars that transported 13 women and children across the southern border and into Egypt. It was an “extremely emotional moment for the…
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More details are emerging on the Israeli hostages freed on Saturday. Among them are 13 Israeli hostages and four Thai nationals. The names of some hostages are starting to be released by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. We will update this list as they are confirmed: Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13, managed to escape…
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It has been announced that one of the hostages released this evening is Emily Hand. Emily was nine yesterday. On 7 October she was sleeping at her best friend’s house when Hamas fighters broke in, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said. It added: “Contact with her was lost by the afternoon. “After a few…
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Minibuses appearing to be carrying Palestinian prisoners expected to be released later today have been seen arriving at Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian authorities have released a list of 39 prisoners expected to be freed, including 24 women and 15 teenage boys. They are being released in exchange for 13 Israeli hostages held…
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The announcement of a humanitarian pause in the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip has brought attention to hostage swap deals between Israel and Palestinian factions. The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared early Wednesday the success of joint mediation efforts with Egypt and the United States between Israel and Hamas. This resulted in a…
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The prime minister of Qatar has said only “very minor” details remain on a deal between Israel and Hamas to secure the release of some of the 238 hostages held in Gaza. Qatar has acted as a key mediator between the two sides since the war began following the 7 October attacks. Prime Minister Sheikh…
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Another 25 Irish citizens and dependants are expected to be able to leave Gaza, the Tánaiste has said. Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said they should be able to cross the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, bringing the total number of citizens and dependants leaving to 51. He previously said he hoped…
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The Israel Defence Forces has released a video it says shows some of its troops attempting to deliver fuel to al Shifa hospital in Gaza. Israel has claimed that a Hamas control centre is situated under the hospital, which both medical staff at the hospital and Hamas have repeatedly denied. Below are screengrabs from the video,…
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Negotiations to secure the release of more hostages from Gaza are continuing, say Qatari mediators, but could be jeopardised by an Israeli ground offensive. “If we can keep discussions going between both parties we should see some sort of breakthrough, hopefully soon,” Qatar’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Sky News in…
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A hostage negotiator has described what Hamas was likely looking for when it captured hundreds of Israelis in its 7 October dawn raids – and what could happen next. Scott Walker, who has been involved in over 300 kidnap for ransom negotiations, told Sky News there would have been “some randomness” over who militants could…
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Former NBC Middle East correspondent and Tel Aviv Bureau chief, Martin Fletcher, has just been speaking to NBC News. His wife is a relative of the US hostages who have been released. “Can you believe it? It’s like a miracle. “We talked about it the other day – would they be human shields? Would they…
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Rishi Sunak has joined Joe Biden in welcoming the release of two US hostages from Gaza. “I welcome the release of two US hostages in Gaza and thank Qatar for their leadership on this issue,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “I discussed efforts to free hostages with Amir Tamim Bin Hamadtoday…
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A Shabbat table has been installed in Tel Aviv with 203 empty place settings – including highchairs – to represent the number of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas. Each one is ready to receive wine and challah bread, NBC News reports. It’s one of several public art installations by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum,…
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The father and ex-husband of the hostages freed by Hamas says they both seem well after speaking to them following their release. Uri Raanan spoke to reporters in Illinois after he shared a phone call with his daughter Natalie who has been held along with her mother Judith buy the militant group in Gaza for…
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