Hamas releases third group of hostages as part of ceasefire while Netanyahu visits Gaza
A total of nine children aged 17 and younger were on the list, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Jerusalem: The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was put back on track on Sunday when the militants freed another 17 hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in a third set of releases under a four-day truce. Red Cross representatives transferred the hostages from Gaza. Some were handed over directly to Israel, while others left via Egypt. The Israeli military said one was taken directly to a hospital.
The Israeli hostages ranged in age from 4 to 84, including Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl whose parents were killed in the Hamas attack that started the war on October 7. The US identified her as the first American hostage to be released; White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S. had reason to believe an American hostage would be released and said there was hope it would be her.
A total of nine children aged 17 and younger were on the list, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. In addition, Hamas said it had released one of the Russian hostages it was holding, “in response to the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin” and as a show of appreciation for Moscow’s position on the war. Israeli Army Radio had reported that it was an Israeli-Russian dual national.
Israel was expected to release 39 Palestinian prisoners later Sunday as part of the deal. A fourth exchange is expected on Monday – the final day of the ceasefire, during which a total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners will be released. They are all women and minors.
International mediators led by the US and Qatar are trying to extend the ceasefire.
Before the latest publication, Netanyahu visited the Gaza Strip, where he spoke with troops. “We are doing everything we can to return our hostages, and at the end of the day we will return them all,” he said, adding that “we will continue until the end, until victory. Nothing will stop us.” It was not immediately clear where he was going in Gaza.
A BREAK IN THE FIGHT
The ceasefire has brought the first significant break in seven weeks of war, marked by the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades and massive destruction and displacement in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas and other militant groups captured about 240 people during the rampage in southern Israel that ignited the war. Fifty-eight have been released, one was liberated by Israeli forces and two were found dead in Gaza.
Pressure from the hostages’ families has exacerbated the dilemma facing Israeli leaders, who are trying to eliminate Hamas as a military and ruling force while returning all the prisoners.
The war has claimed the lives of more than 1,200 Israelis, most of whom were civilians killed by Hamas in the initial attack. According to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-ruled Gaza, more than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, about two-thirds of whom are women and minors.
The ceasefire, which started on Friday, was brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States. Israel has said the ceasefire could be extended for an additional day for every additional 10 hostages released, but has vowed to quickly resume its offensive once it ends. Sullivan said the U.S. is “working with all parties on the possibility of expanding this deal to include more hostages than the initial 50.”
HAMAS COMMANDER KILLED
Hamas announced the death of Ahmed al-Ghandour, who was in charge of northern Gaza and a member of the supreme military council. He is the highest-ranking militant known to have been killed in the fighting. The Israeli army confirmed the death.
Al-Ghandour, believed to be about 56 years old, had survived at least three Israeli attempts on his life and was involved in a cross-border attack in 2006 in which Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier, according to the Counter Extremism Project. an advocacy group based in Washington.
Hamas said he was killed along with three other high-ranking militants, including Ayman Siam, who Israel said was in charge of Hamas’s rocket-firing unit. The Israeli military named both men in a Nov. 16 statement and said it targeted an underground complex where Hamas leaders were hiding.
The Israeli military claims it has killed thousands of militants without providing evidence, including several mid-level commanders it has named.
AID AND RESPITE IN GAZA
The pause has brought some respite to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, who are still reeling from brutal Israeli bombing that has driven three-quarters of the population from their homes and razed residential areas. Rocket fire from Gaza militants into Israel also remained silent.
War-weary Palestinians in northern Gaza, where the offensive was concentrated, returned to the streets. Entire city blocks in and around Gaza City have been destroyed by airstrikes that have hollowed out buildings and left behind rubble.
In southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people from the north have sought refuge, residents lined up at gas stations, hoping to stock up on fuel. Palestinians who have tried to return north to see if their homes are intact have been turned back by Israeli forces.
“Many are desperate to return to their homes, but they open fire on anyone who approaches from the south,” said Rami Hazarein, who fled Gaza City last month.
The Israeli army has ordered Palestinians not to return north and not to approach within one kilometer (about half a mile) of the border fence. The Palestinian Red Crescent Rescue Service said Israeli forces opened fire on two farmers in central Gaza on Sunday, killing one and wounding the other. No further details were given. An Israeli military spokesman said they were not aware of the incident.
The United Nations says the ceasefire has made it possible to scale up deliveries of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the war began, even though it has still not reached pre-war levels. It was able to deliver fuel for the first time since the start of the war and reach areas in the north for the first time in a month.
HOSTAGES FOR PRISONERS
The freed hostages have largely remained out of the public eye. Hospital officials said their physical condition was good, apart from one who was shot during the attack and required surgery. Little is publicly known about the conditions of their captivity.
Eyal Nouri, the cousin of 72-year-old Adina Moshe, who was released on Friday, said his aunt had to “adapt to the sunlight” because she had been in complete darkness for weeks.
The freed Palestinians included at least two women who had been given long sentences after being convicted by Israeli courts of violent attacks. Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those involved in attacks, as heroes who resisted the occupation and have celebrated their release.
The war in Gaza is accompanied by a wave of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian health authorities said on Sunday that five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military attack in the northern West Bank city of Jenin that began the day before. Since the start of the war, the West Bank toll now stands at 239.
The Israeli army has carried out regular military raids since the start of the war and arrested hundreds of Palestinians, mostly people it suspects of being Hamas members.
(Samy Magdy reported from Cairo. Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.)