By Adel Zaanoun with Michael Blum in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 28, 2023 (AFP) – Twelve more hostages were freed Tuesday from Gaza captivity in exchange for Palestinian prisoners under an extended truce, as mediators worked for a lasting halt to the seven-week Israel-Hamas war. Ten Israelis and two Thais were released, the Israeli prime minister’s office said, with the army saying they were handed over to the Red Cross and were “inside […]
Middle East
Eleven more Gaza hostages released as Israel-Hamas truce extended
By Adel Zaanoun with Michael Blum in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 27, 2023 (AFP) – Israel said Monday that 11 more hostages released in the Gaza Strip had arrived safely, hours after the announcement that a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will be extended by two days, opening the way for further releases. Hamas announced the agreement to prolong the truce by 48 hours shortly before it was due to end […]
The 14 Israeli hostages freed by Hamas on Sunday
PARIS, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Nine children, four women and a Russian-Israeli were released Sunday by Gaza rulers Hamas, according to accounts given to AFP by their relatives, Israeli media and the Hostage Families Forum. The releases bring to 63 the total number of freed hostages from around 240 taken to Gaza after the unprecedented October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The releases came following a Friday agreement between Israel and Hamas, which is […]
Israel-Hamas truce enters final day with talk of extension
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 27, 2023 (AFP) – The truce between Israel and Hamas entered its final 24 hours Monday, with the militant group saying it was willing to extend the pause after it freed more hostages, including a four-year-old orphaned by its attack. The pause that began Friday has seen dozens of hostages freed, with over 100 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in return. […]
Crew of Israel-linked tanker seized off Yemen ‘safe’: US official
DUBAI, Nov 27, 2023 (AFP) – A tanker linked to an Israel-affiliated company was seized off Yemen Sunday by armed individuals, US defence officials said, but the crew members were later brought to safety. “There are indications that an unknown number of unidentified armed individuals seized the M/V Central Park in the Gulf of Aden Nov. 26,” a US defence official told AFP. The maritime security firm Ambrey said that “US naval forces are engaged […]
More captives, prisoners freed as Gaza truce extension moote
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas released a third group of hostages including a four-year-old American girl Sunday, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners on day three of a truce which a source close to the militants said they were willing to prolong. The transfers under a four-day truce that started Friday have been the first relief for captives’ families since the militant […]
Hamas fighters to free more hostages as families reunite
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas fighters were set Sunday to release a third group of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a day after freeing captives including a young woman snatched from a desert rave. In a sign of the fragility of the exchanges, the latest swap Saturday was delayed for hours after Hamas accused Israel of breaching its side […]
The 13 Israeli hostages freed by Hamas on Saturday
By Jean-Philippe CHOGNOT PARIS, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Families and children kidnapped from Israel’s southern Kibbutz Beeri were among the 13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Saturday, according to accounts given to AFP by their relatives, Israeli press, and the Hostage Families Forum. The releases came following a Friday agreement between Israel and Hamas, which is supposed to last four days and allow for 50 Israelis and 150 Palestinians to be freed. A […]
39 Palestinians released under hostage deal return home
JERUSALEM, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Prison authorities in Israel announced early Sunday that they had released 39 Palestinian detainees, after Hamas freed 13 hostages under an agreement that came into force on Friday. The freed Palestinian prisoners are all women and people under the age of 19, while the hostages released by Hamas are all women and children. The agreement is supposed to last four days and allow the release of 50 Israelis and […]
Iran says it helped broker release of Thais held in Gaza
TEHRAN, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – Iran said Saturday it helped broker the surprise release of Thai nationals who had been held by Palestinian militants in war-ravaged Gaza since their shock attack on Israel last month. On Friday, Hamas unexpectedly released 10 Thais and a Filipino, along with the 13 Israeli women and children that were part of a temporary truce deal with Israel. Israel in turn freed 39 Palestinian women and children from its […]
Second hostage group returns to Israel after Hamas release
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas on Saturday released a second group of Israeli and foreign civilians it had been holding hostage in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, after an hours-long unexpected delay set nerves on edge. Israeli authorities said 13 Israelis and four Thai citizens had returned to Israel. The joint announcement by the Israeli military and the […]
Second stage of hostage-prisoner release awaited in Gaza truce
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas fighters were set to release a second group of hostages Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, officials said, as a truce largely held in the devastated Gaza Strip after seven weeks of war that killed thousands of people. Israeli prison authorities said 42 Palestinian inmates — both male and female — would be freed under the […]