Palestinian Prisoners Freed As Gaza Cease-Fire Holds: Israel-Hamas War Live Updates
Three hostages have been released in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
The hostages, all women, were released from Red Cross custody in Gaza on Sunday and handed over to the Israeli army, who took them to meet their mother, the Israeli military said.
About 100 hostages, living and dead, are thought to be still being held in Gaza, most of them taken in the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Thirty-three of them will be released during the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, including women soldiers and civilians, children, men over 50 and sick and wounded people, according to the agreement.
“Most” of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the six-week ceasefire are alive, said Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, on Sunday in his social media.
A video released by the Israeli military shows the three hostages being reunited with their families at Sheba Hospital in Israel.
In another clip, one of the returned hostages, Romi Gonen, is surrounded by his family members as they tearfully comfort each other. Yarden Gonen, his sister, who traveled the world last year to lobby for Romi’s release, jumps up and down in the video as the family embraces. In another clip, another freed hostage, Doron Steinbrecher, tearfully hugs loved ones.
Romi Gonen
Ms Gonen was 23 when she was caught trying to leave the Nova music festival in southern Israel when Hamas attacked. He was talking at the time with his mother, Meirav Gonen, who said she had been shot and was bleeding.
Last February, Meirav Gonen released his last recorded phone call with his daughter. He told Israeli media that Romi was a strong and happy person who used to go to raves.
In the first weeks of the war, his mother expressed concern that Israeli military operations in Gaza could endanger the hostages.
Romi Gonen’s older sister, Yarden, told The New York Times in February that she often went to the Tel Aviv neighborhood where the kidnappers’ families held vigils.
“None of us do anything related to our past lives,” she said.
Emily Damari
Ms. Damari, 27, at the time of her abduction, was the only British national who was still in custody this month. He was taken from his home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza in southern Israel and was seen by a neighbor in his car, driven by a thug, heading to Gaza.
Mrs. Damari grew up in Israel but often visited Britain, according to her mother, British-born Mandy Damari, who was in Israel last month to speak to officials and the media and to ask for a cease-fire agreement. He said his daughter had been shot and feared for her life, telling the BBC he had accepted threats from President-elect Donald J. Trump that there would be “hell to pay” if no deal was reached by the president. anointing.
Last January, a freed hostage in Gaza, Dafna Elyakim, told Israeli media that she and her younger sister were taken to tunnels under Hamas, where they met other female hostages, including Ms. Damari.
The day before the first day of the October 7 attacks, Mandy Damari spoke at an event in London’s Hyde Park, where she described her daughter as a soccer fan who enjoyed a drink and had “a typical British sense of humor, with a bit of Israeli chutzpah thrown in for good measure.”
On Sunday, Mandy Damari thanked “everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this terrible ordeal.” But, in a statement, “for far too many families the impossible wait continues.”
The Israeli army also released a photo of Emily Damari and her mother showing two fingers on her left hand. Ms. Damari was shot in the hand on October 7, 2023.
Doron Steinbrecher
Ms Steinbrecher, who was 30 years old when she was taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza, is a veterinary nurse with Romanian and Israeli citizenship. According to Israeli media, he was communicating with his family in the kibbutz when the soldiers attacked, telling his parents that they had broken his windows and were shooting in his room.
“They’ve come, they’ve got me,” he said in a voice message he sent to friends.
Last January, Hamas released a video clip of Ms. Steinbrecher and two other hostages, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, in which they pleaded for their release.
Last March, on her 31st birthday, the Jewish News Syndicate published an interview with her mother, Simona Steinbrecher, who said she looked pale and thin in the video. He said he is concerned that Ms. Steinbrecher is not getting the medication she needs every day, although she did not specify what that is.
“She is a strong woman, but it’s bad to be there,” said Simona Steinbrecher.
On Sunday, Doron Steinbrecher’s family released a statement celebrating his release that thanked the people of Israel and expressed gratitude to Mr. Trump for his “significant involvement and support, which means a lot to us.” This statement did not mention President Biden or any Israeli leaders.
Source link
