Israeli Hostages Released As Two Sides Talk Truce Extension
58 hostages released in exchange for 100+ Palestinian prisoners over the weekend
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🗞 INSIDE THE HOSTAGE-PRISONER EXCHANGE: WHAT COMES NEXT?
Today is the final day of the four-day Israel-Hamas temporary pause in fighting. Over three consecutive days this past weekend, the Hamas terror group released 58 hostages, including Israelis as well as citizens of Thailand, the Philippines and Russia. There are believed to be 177 hostages who were abducted on October 7th remaining in tunnels under Gaza after 52 days.
Hamas released 17 more hostages on Sunday, including one American — Avigail Idan, who turned four while she was in captivity on Friday.
🚨 Late Sunday, Hamas formally requested to extend the cease-fire with Israel after the current four-day pause is over.
It comes as the Wall Street Journal reports that a four-day extension is possible that could see more women and children freed, followed by elderly Israeli men, and the bodies of deceased hostages, in exchange for additional Palestinian prisoner releases. Hamas is so far refusing to release younger men. Mo News will be reporting today on whether the truce extends past midnight.
The Initial Deal: Over four days, Hamas agreed to free 50 Israeli women and children under the age of 19 that they abducted during the terror attacks on October 7. In exchange, Israel released three Palestinian prisoners (women and teenagers) for each hostage.
Israel also allowed in much-needed aid, like water, food and fuel, into Gaza during the pause in fighting.
The Extension: Israel said its conditions to extend the truce beyond today remain the same: Hamas would need to release an additional 10 hostages for each additional day’s pause in the fighting.
The Protocol: Hamas has been releasing the names of the hostages it will free the night prior. They are initially transferred to Egypt before being returned to Israel.
In A Surprise: Over the weekend, Hamas released another 18 hostages beyond the 40 Israeli women and children— from Thailand, the Philippines and Russia.
The countries had struck a separate deal with Iran and Hamas for the release of their citizens. Details on what those deals entailed are still unclear.
Kfir Bibas, a 10-month old Israeli child remains a hostage, along with his brother and parents, as of this morning.
IN ISRAEL: EMOTIONAL BUT BITTERSWEET REUNIONS
Emotional scenes played out in Israel as families reunited after weeks of uncertainty. In many cases, the hostages witnessed the murder of their families and friends as they were abducted by Hamas to the Gaza Strip. In other cases, they didn’t know the fate of some of their family members–only to find out this weekend that they were killed while others remain hostages in Gaza….and in some cases their homes were burned down in the terror attack.
Photos of Israeli hostages released as of Sunday night. via ABC News
Here’s the three day breakdown so far:
On Sunday: Avigail Idan, the 4 year-old American-Israeli girl whose parents were killed in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel was freed by Hamas captors, along with 12 other Israelis, three Thais and a dual Israeli-Russian citizen.
President Biden said of Avigail: “What she endured is unthinkable.“ She was reportedly in her dad’s arms when he was shot and killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7th. Her mother was murdered as well. Avigail was taken hostage, while her older siblings survived. They will all now live with relatives.
On Saturday: A 9-year-old Irish-Israeli girl, Emily Hand, whose father first believed she had been killed on Oct. 7, was among the 13 Israeli hostages released on Saturday.
On Friday: An initial group of 24 Hamas-held hostages — the first day of the cease-fire — consisting of 13 Israelis, 10 Thai nationals and a Filipino citizen.
The release of the Thai and Filipino hostages occurred separately from the release of the Israeli hostages. Thailand is the single biggest source of migrant farm labor in Israel.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE IN CAPTIVITY? So far, the freed hostages have not spoken publicly. Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were released on Friday, said they had been fed irregularly and lost weight — eating mainly bread and rice and sleeping on a makeshift bed of chairs pushed together. Hostages sometimes had to wait for hours to use the bathroom, she said.
Celebrations as Palestinian prisoners are released in the West Bank. Via: AP
THE PALESTINIAN PRISONERS
So far, Israel has released about 120 Palestinian prisoners, including dozens of women and teens. Here is a list of the Palestinian prisoners released so far.
Some had been sentenced to years-long prison terms over attempted murders and stabbings and attacks on Israeli security forces.
Others had been detained for lesser crimes like public disorder, property damage, and causing or threatening physical harm to Israeli officers by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
In terms of rock throwing, Israel had instituted longer sentences for throwing rocks after more than a dozen Israelis were killed and injured in recent years, after stones were thrown on cars from overpasses and in urban settings.
Palestinian rights groups believe the punishment doesn’t fit the crime, and noted some teens were being detained indefinitely without trial.
Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those implicated in attacks, as heroes resisting occupation. Some of those released were draped in Palestinian flags, others in the green flags and bandanas of Hamas as they praised Hamas leaders in Gaza.
The Israeli government has ordered police to shut down celebrations over the prisoner release. Israeli security forces at one point unleashed tear gas canisters on the Palestinian crowds.
WHAT’S NEXT?
International mediators led by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been trying to extend the ceasefire. The temporary cease-fire agreement — opening the door to the initial exchange of hostages for prisoners — was the most significant diplomatic breakthrough in the war so far.
President Biden says “we will not stop working until every hostage is returned to their loved ones.” There are thought to be about nine other Americans in captivity in Gaza.
Inside Israel, there is major pressure to prioritize the release of hostages. Netanyahu says after the truce “we will return with full force” to destroy Hamas.
Over 1.7 million of the 2.3 million people in Gaza are now homeless, the U.N. says. Thousands returned north during the break in the fighting to see what became of their homes, despite Israel dropping leaflets warning them not to go back to the war zone.
Gaza shelters are overcrowded and at more than four times capacity.
The south has increasingly been the target of Israeli air strikes in recent weeks as they begin to target Hamas outside of Gaza City. Strikes have also killed and injured civilians in the southern part of Gaza.
The U.N. said the truce has made it possible to scale up the delivery of food, water, and medicine to the largest volume since the start of the war, but it calls the amount of 160 to 200 trucks a day “hardly enough.”
⏳ SPEED READ
Via: CNN
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🗓 ON THIS DAY: NOVEMBER 27
1895: Alfred Nobel — a Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist who invented dynamite and other, more powerful explosives — signed his third and last will which left much of his wealth for the establishment of the Nobel Prizes.
1924: The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held in NYC.
1978: Former Board of Supervisors member Dan White murders Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk at City Hall in San Francisco, CA.
2013: Disney’s ‘Frozen’ premiers in theaters.
2021: Taylor Swift's extended version of "All Too Well," with a running time of 10:13, hits #1 on the Hot 100, becoming the longest song ever to top the chart.